After a succession of comic bungling that that would have been more appropriate from clowns in a circus, Mamelodi Sundowns gained a bizarre 2-1 Premier League win over AmaZulu’s 10 men with two goals after 88 minutes play at Chatsworth Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Amazulu opened the score in the 72nd minute through a gifted goal after Sundowns goalkeeper Calvin Marlin attempted to throw a clearance to Derrick Spencer, only for the ball to strike the oblivious defender’s back and bounce directly into the path of Dumisani Ngwenya.
The grateful AmaZulu striker calmly guided the ball into an empty net and the indications at this point were that the Sundowns’ nightmare — and that of their French coach Henri Michel — was set to continue in an uncanny manner.
Ultimately the soccer gods decided to smile benignly on the Brazilians, with another defeat staring them in the face and three points seemingly secure for AmaZulu.
At this point the hapless Durban club found themselves immersed in the mother of all soccer blunders, with goalkeeper Kakonje Kalililo bringing down Siboniso Gaxa in the penalty area and receiving a red card.
With AmaZulu consequently reduced to 10 men and facing the dilemma of defending Sundowns’ penalty without a regular goalkeeper, substitute striker Myron Shongwe was forced into donning the goalkeeper’s jersey in a futile attempt to stop Surprise Moriri’s spot-kick.
Then the game truly entered the twilight zone when Sundowns newly-signed striker, Diyo Sibisi scored the winner in referee’s optional time.
The game, in the main, took on a predictable mode for Sundowns, with the PSL’s most affluent club dominating play territorially, but looking inept and shell-shocked in front of goal.
It was Marlin in Sundowns’ goal who was required to produce a number of snappy saves from Amazulu’s rare counter-attacks to keep the scoreline blank until the 72nd minute. – Sapa