Peter Shalulile and Arthur Sales were the heroes on Wednesday when Mamelodi Sundowns emerged victorious in the 2-0 clash against Amazulu FC at the Lucas Moripe Stadium.
Coming from a draw in their previous encounter, Masandawana was looking to return to winning ways and to further stamp on their dominance on top of the league log. The intention was evident from the moment the kick-off whistle was blown and Amazulu could barely touch the ball unless it was on their own half and they were blocking it from going past their goalkeeper. When they had possession of the ball, the visitors were capitalizing and trying to find something.
The hosts sent the goalkeeper to work throughout the opening half. To first rattle him and his defense, was Jayden Adams who created a good chance but the goalkeeper smacked it away, earning Downs a corner kick that was not well executed. Shalulile also came close to breaking the deadlock from a cross made by Lucas Riberio to set him up but he missed the ball with his mistimed header effort.
Two more big saves were made by the goalkeeper before the interval. Teboho Mokoena had played a lovely ball, breaking the window to find Iqraam Rayners but the goalkeeper sensed the anger and quickly came out to deny Rayners a goal. Another one from Rayners came but the shot was cushioned, leading the two sides to go to the break with no goals.
Six minutes into the second half, a goal was finally witnessed at the Lucas Moripe Stadium and Shalulile was the man who opened the scoring for his side. Khuliso Mudau made a beautiful pass to Shalulile who managed to slightly lob the ball over the goalkeeper to then slot it in.
The visitors applied some creativity in trying to create an equalizer but the Downs men put their bodies on the line to block a desperate Amazulu side from finding the back of the net.
After constantly knocking on the door and remaining resolute, Sales finally found the back of the net in the final stages of the match. Unable to find space to score, Ribeiro delivered the ball to Sales who tried to shoot but a body blocked the chance. He managed to quickly find the rebound and with his left foot, he struck the ball to the bottom right corner, to extend the lead for Bafana Ba Style. For the remaining minutes of the match, Masandawana tried to extend the lead but in the end, had to settle for the two goals scored which helped them complete a double against their Amazulu counterparts.
How we lined up: Williams ©, Mokoena, Kekana, Suarez, Modiba, Ribeiro, Lunga, Mudau, Adams, Rayners, Shalulile.
Subs: Onyango, Khoza, Morena, Cupido, Mkhulise, Esquivel, Letlhaku, Matthews, Sales.
