Iqraam Rayners’s only goal of the match ensured a full haul of points for Mamelodi Sundowns when they played Ulsan HD in their opening match of the FIFA Club World Cup on Wednesday morning at the Inter & Co Stadium in Orlando, Florida. After an hour delay due to inclement weather, Masandawana’s hopes of winning their first match of the tournament became a reality, despite the wait.
Masandawana caught their opponents on the hop with a quickfire start through Arthur Sales, who struck a shot from a tight angle on the left flank, but the goalkeeper denied them an early opener. The hosts were quick to retaliate, but the shot taken right in front of the goal sailed over the bar.
For the next 20 minutes, the ball was moving from box to box, but there were no goals scored. Rayners squeezed himself into the box, but his shot rolled over a few inches wide. Two minutes later, from a free-kick, he found the back of the net, but the goal was disallowed. In the 36th minute, through a defence-splitting pass orchestrated by Lucas Ribeiro, Rayners found the ball and slotted it in, breaking the deadlock for his side.
After being awarded a free-kick outside the area, following a foul on the visitors, known for his deadly set-pieces, Teboho Mokoena fired a strong shot, but the goalkeeper dived in the right direction to smack the ball away.
In the closing stages of the opening half, Ronwen Williams came out to defend a ball that eventually went past him, but luckily Divine Lunga was steadfast on the net to clear the danger away. The Brazilians went to the interval leading by a goal.
The second stanza kicked off with Ulsan dominating the ball and taking plenty of chances to find a goal that would level matters, but the Downs backline remained steadfast and denied them a goal.
Rayners, again, almost found the back of the net just after the hour mark, but on the edge of the box, a tackle was made to snatch the ball off his feet. Three minutes later, the Asian-based side had the ball in Downs’ half, but luckily Lunga was alert as he cleared the ball away right next to the side net. A follow-up save a few minutes later was made by Williams as he bucketed a shot taken by Ulsan.
Bafana Ba Style almost found a second goal, but with no balance in front of the goal, that helped Ulsan clear the ball before it could cross the line. Danger loomed for Maandawana a minute later when Williams could not block the ball, but Keanu Cupido made an important clearance to help his side hold on to the lead.
Pressure was piling up for both sides. While Ulsan was creating chances and looking to score a late goal, Downs were doing the same, but the objective was to hold on to the lead and not concede a goal late in the game. They became the first side in Group F to register a victory in the tournament.
How we lined up: Williams, Mudau, Kekana, Cupido, Lunga, Mokoena, Allende, Zwane ©, Ribeiro, Rayners, Sales.
Subs, Onyango, Pieterse, Modiba, Lebusa, Khoza, Mvala, Mdunyelwa, Maema, Adams, Aubaas, Mkhulise, Shalulile, Mothiba, Letlhaku, Matthews.
What a game,the only disappointing thing is the amount of clear cut chances we missed,above all happy with the chances created.Rayners ,Lunga,Rebeiro Mokoena,Zwane,Mudau and Cupido were on fire,i really really loved the aggression of Lunga and Cupido that is what has been lacking at the back.I saw glimpse of brilliance in Mothiba,i think he is on to something,with match fitness he is going to murder lots of teams.