Mamelodi Sundowns hurriedly drafted new signing Matti Pattison from the English third division into their line-up for the soulless 0-0 Premier League game against Orlando Pirates at a freezing, wind-swept Ellis Park on Wednesday night.
And the shaven-headed Pattison must have felt very much at home in a game largely devoid of inspiration and inventiveness, which slotted neatly into a relative third division rating from two disappointing teams who are supposedly the frontrunners in the PSL championship race.
Sundowns, who finished the game with 10 men after the sending off of the aimless Vuyo Mere in the 70th minute, were particularly uninspiring and looked like a bunch of players who had only been introduced to each other shortly before the kick-off.
And emphasising the fact that the Pretoria club are still trying to mobilise themselves out of the cul-de-sac into which they have driven headlong into during the past few seasons was the fact that the two much-vaunted match-winners they have purchased for their latest campaign, striker Mabhuti Khenyeza and Elias Pelembe, both started out the game on the substitute’s bench.
Despite looking infinitely the more cohesive unit and enjoying approximately 60% possession, it was no credit to Pirates that they could not penetrate the defence of their lacklustre opponents, not even, mind you, when Sundowns were down to 10 men after Mere’s exit.
And to add to Sundowns’ shame was the late sending off of combustible new coach Hristo Stoichkov in the closing stages after referee Jerome Damon lost patience and punished the volatile former Fifa ”Player of the Year”.
Despite this, Damon appeared to err in not awarding Sundowns a penalty midway through the second half — although it would have been a miscarriage of justice had the so-called Brazilians sneaked off with three undeserved points.
And the fans must have had a premonition of the letdown, with only a third of the stadium filled for an encounter that has often drawn packed houses for match-ups between these renowned rivals.
It was an indictment of Sundowns that Pirates goalkeeper Moeneeb Josephs was not required to make a single valid save throughout the 90 minutes.
And, while veteran Brian Baloyi in Sundowns goal was not overworked either, an instinctive save in the 87th minute saved his
team further blushes.
Pirates introduced new signing Gert Schalkwyk in the second half after his case of speeding on the highway at close to 200km was postponed until next month — but while the former Wits and Chiefs player demonstrated his penchant for pace at times, the Buccaneers failed to break down the brick-wall Sundowns’ defence.
Sundowns’ cautious approach became ultra-negative when they were down to 10 players, with an unashamed intention of playing for a draw magnified by the introduction of extra defenders.
A Teko Modise free-kick in the 17th minute narrowly past wide of the post and gave promise of better things to come, but it was all too misleading as the game petered out a cold-for-comfort stalemate.
In other PSL matches played on Wednesday night, Ajax Cape Town scraped a 1-1 draw with Free State Stars, BidVest Wits and Maritzburg United drew 1-1 at Milpark and Mpumalanga Black Aces scored their first victory in the top flight with a 2-1 win over Moroka Swallows. In Cape Town, Santos slumped to a disappointing 1-0 loss to Bloemfontein Celtic while AmaZulu beat Platinum Stars 1-0 in a fast-paced encounter in Rustenberg. — Sapa