OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Saturday 8.00pm.
SUNDOWNS failed to live up to their favourites tag when they were beaten 1-0 by Kaizer Chiefs in the Bob Save Superbowl final, losing out on an historic treble.
The 80000 strong FNB Stadium crowd were captivated by the match, which was not a classic by any stretch of the imagination, but gripped the emotions from the start.
The magic moment for the Amakhosi came on the stroke of half-time when goal-ace Siyabonga Nomvete clamly slotted a penalty after referee Ian Macleod adjudged Charles Motlohi to have fouled Mohammed Auseb in the Sundowns area.
Nomvete coolly lined the stroke up and slotted home.
The goal however was preceded by a near-brawl on pitch which further aroused the collective emotion of the fans. Sundowns supporters felt hard done by and vented their anger and frustrations at full-time by raining missiles on Macleod.
The match was tough and bruising, keeping with the tradition of major finals, and the crowd vocally displayed their pleasure with each well-crafted move or near-miss at goal.
Sundowns came back strongly in the second-half, even getting the ball into the back of the net through Alex Bapela with 10 minutes to go, but the ruling was that the midfielder was offside and Chiefs held on to clinch the title.
Kudos to Brian Baloyi whose brilliant goalkeeping saw him deny Sundowns thrice in the initial stages of the second-half, twice saving certain goals from the boot of top league goalscorer Daniel Madau.