Not even the spectre of the supposedly unlucky number 13 could derail the Mamelodi Sundowns juggernaut as the rampant Brazilians extended to 13 their unbeaten run of matches in accounting for a gallant, but outclassed, Santos 2-1 at the Johannesburg Stadium on Saturday night.
In the process, the defending champions have now won nine successive Premier Soccer League (PSL) matches and have transformed into a formality the issue of retaining the championship with an 11-point lead in the log and a game in hand.
Playing on unfamiliar home territory because of the chronic ground shortage in Pretoria, Sundowns opened the score in the 18th minute with a header from left-back Oscar Ntwagae following a short- corner ploy by Josta Dladla and Godfrey Sapula.
They then virtually sealed victory in the 65th minute when Jose Torrealba’s deft, defence-splitting pass was rocketed into the corner of the net by the onrushing Sapula.
Santos scored a consolation, close-range goal in the 88th minute through Thembile Kanono, with the final scoreline in no way reflecting Sundowns’ overall superiority or class.
The Brazilians engineered a succession of thrilling scoring opportunities in the first half and led the Santos defence a merry dance, with Lerato Chabangu somehow failing to score from 5m when confronted by an open goal in the 38th minute.
An element of impatience crept into the champions’ clinical build-ups in the second period and the never-say-die Santos came more into the picture — without ever threatening the inevitability of a Sundowns victory.
And coach Gordon Igesund, in the process, was afforded the opportunity of bringing on several reserves — although this detracted somewhat from the fluidity of the football.
Nevertheless, it was a pity that Johannesburg soccer followers did not take greater advantage of witnessing a superior brand of PSL soccer in their midst — only a modest, but vociferous, 6 000 crowd were present. — Sapa