Mamelodi Sundowns made it 10 victories from their last 10 matches by beating Wits University 2-0 in an absorbing Premier League game at Bidvest Stadium on Wednesday night.
But although leading 2-0 at half-time and possessing what at times suggested was a touch of extra class, the defending PSL champions and runaway log leaders did not have matters all their own way against a Wits side who rekindled much of their early-season form.
Instead, the Brazilians strengthened their stranglehold on the championship race and now lead second-placed Jomo Cosmos by eight points with two games in hand.
Wits began the more forceful and determined team and might easily have taken the lead before Sundowns’s Venezuelan international striker, Jose Torrealba, opened the score in the 28th minute from close-range after completing a telepathic movement with Surprise Moriri.
Sundowns struck again with sudden stealth during referee’s optional time before half-time when Lerato Chabangu ran onto a pass from Godfrey Sapula down the left flank and scored with a ground shot which Wits goalkeeper Moeneeb Josephs appeared to misjudge.
And when Sundowns goalkeeper Calvin Marlin made a sensational point-blank save from Wits’s Brazilian striker Marcos de Jesus in the 53rd minute, one observer in the capacity 5 000 crowd suggested that the contrasting efforts of the two goalkeepers immediately before and after halftime had made all the difference.
Certainly, Wits continued to have as many scoring opportunities as their vaunted opponents until the final whistle — with Sundowns tapering off a little after coach Gordon Igesund had substituted Sapula, Torrealba and Moriri — possibly his three classiest attacking players.
A feature of the game was the timely tackling of a Sundowns defence that has now only conceded five goals during their 10-game winning sequence of Premier League, Caf Champions League and Absa Cup matches.
Meanwhile, SuperSport United and Jomo Cosmos shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw during their PSL game, played at Loftus Stadium on Wednesday night. – Sapa