They may have had almost enough well-known players to assemble three line-ups strutting on to the field at FNB Stadium on Saturday for the opening Telkom Charity Cup semifinal against Black Leopards, but a tepid game was anything but a stroll in the park for Mamelodi Sundowns.
Indeed, a sometimes slow-motion Sundowns battled for 77 minutes to open the score through new full-back signing Oscar Ntwagae in an uninspiring 1-0 win against the ultra-defensive, disciplined tactics devised by Leopards and former Orlando Pirates and French-born coach Jean-Ives Kerjean.
Just when it seemed a penalty shoot-out was looming on the horizon, Sundowns’ former Silver Stars player eluded a packed goalmouth of Leopards’ defenders to nudge a header from Antonio Trigo’s swerving free kick into the corner of the net.
But although Sandile Ndlovu, back at Sundowns after a successful season on loan with Dynamos, squandered the opportunity to seal the issue virtually in the 83rd minute, a dogged Leopards never stopped battling and almost equalised on two occasions in the final five minutes.
It would seem Sundowns’ Argentinian coach Angel Cappa reserved a couple of his more notable players for what could have proved premature and embarrassing planning for the final later in the day, and at this stage the abundance of talent might be providing the Brazilians with a hand containing more headaches than aces.
Not surprisingly, it was not a Sundowns player who was voted man of the match, with several stunning saves from Leopards goalkeeper Guy Mutshi earning him this accolade after Peter Mdlovu had looked on with disbelief on one occasion after one porpoise-like leap had stopped a veritable rocket.
Although Sundowns dominated possession with the monotony of an endlessly leaking tap, their play was too static to open the floodgates in the rugged, sometimes over-robust Leopards’ defence, and only ex-Venezuelan substitute striker Jose Torrealba demonstrated a penchant for incisive movement off the ball. — Sapa