The Mamelodi Sundowns Diski Team shared spoils with their Sekhukhune United Reserves counterparts when they played to a 1-1 draw on Sunday morning at the Isak Steyl Stadium.
The young Brazilians kicked off the game strong, dominating their hosts. Bennet Mokoena almost opened the scoring, but in front of the goal, his effort was intercepted. That effort was followed by Oarabile Booysen’s attempt, which rattled the woodwork to deny him an opener.
Eventually, Babina Noko picked up their pace and started creating chances. Their biggest chance came from a counterattack effort. The ball was driven into the box, but luckily Thabo Nkabinde cleared the ball.
Kamohelo Mareletse had the biggest chance of the match when he went past three defenders. He came one-on-one with the goalkeeper. He beat the goalkeeper; however, the ball rolled a few inches wide.
The hosts concluded the opening half with a chance they took in the area. Gomolemo Kekana, however, denied them when he slid down to clear the ball. The two sides went into the break goalless.
Babina Noko kicked off the second stanza with a powerful shot from range, but it sailed over the bar to deny them an opportunity to break the deadlock.
In the 50th minute, Chuene Moabelo also took a shot from range after his side kept knocking on the door. His shot slightly missed the target as it went wide.
Despite dominating possession and creating the most chances, Masandawana conceded first. It came in the 56th minute after the Downs defence struggled to clear the ball from danger. It went past Nqobani Biyela to see the hosts open the scoring.
It didn’t take long before the visitors were fouled and awarded a penalty. The shot from the spot was taken by Mokoena, who hit the target to see Bafana Ba Style level matters.
The rest of the match saw plenty of chances but no goals on sight, seeing Masandawana walking away with just a point.
How we lined up: Biyela (c), Sibande, Sithole, Nkabinde, Mampane, Kekana, Mareletse, Moabelo, Mabena, Mokoena, Booysen.
Subs: Shabangu, Seedat, Mswane, Siquba, Mlondo.
