Mamelodi Sundowns defeated TS Galaxy 1-0 at Loftus Versfeld on Wednesday night, moving them three points clear at the top of the Betway Premiership standings.
Just after the hour, Arthur Sales scored the game-winning goal off the bench, giving Bafana Ba Style all three points and extending their tally at the top of the Betway Premiership standings.
The Brazilians were hoping to recover from their weekend draw with the Orlando Pirates going into the encounter. From the first whistle, Masandawana controlled possession, setting the pace and trapping the visitors in their own half for certain periods.
Early on, Tashreeq Matthews’ attempt also went wide, and Peter Shalulile’s low strike flashed past the upright. Midway through the first half, Nuno Santos put Ira Tape to the test, but a deflection allowed for a simple stop. Then, as Bafana Ba Style kept pushing for an opener, Khuliso Mudau’s attempt went just over the bar from the edge of the box.
Ronwen Williams, on the other hand, made two saves in quick succession to deny Galaxy an unexpected lead before halftime.
In the 61st minute, the Brazilians’ perseverance paid off when two replacements combined. Iqraam Rayners did a fantastic job cutting the ball across the goal for Arthur Sales, who finished confidently from close range to make it 1-0.
A few minutes later, Teboho Mokoena nearly doubled the lead with a curling strike, but Tape denied Teboho’s effort to double The Brazilians’ lead.
Masandawana controlled the game to secure another clean sheet and the three points, while Galaxy found it difficult to generate any meaningful opportunities in the second half.
How we lined up: Williams ©, Mokoena, Kekana, Cupido, Modiba, Allende, Mudau, Matthews, Santos, Ntsabeleng, Shalulile.
Subs: Onyango, Lebusa, Mdunyelwa, Basadien, Mkhulise, Adams, Sales, Maseko, Rayners
We were shaky at the back and better when going forward.My main concern is both the players and technical team don’t seem to analyse their game or don”t understand what they are doing,we scored because we didn’t hold on to the ball for along time,Kekana played through ball from the back and there was one touch to Rayerners and he crossed it first time and Sales finished it with a single touch,that is how football should be played and we didn’t continue with that.The only player who distribute the ball fast is Santos.When you hold on to the ball wise teams don’t mark you,they only back in number to form a solid wall then we complain about packing the bus when we are the one who give the opponents to regroup.Sometimes it seems we have lazy or unfit players who don’t what to play fast football.I understand why members are reluctant to comment because as much as we won but ,the opponent had more clear chances to win the game in the first half.