Mamelodi Sundowns enjoyed a night out in Loftus Versfeld on Wednesday when they defeated Royal AM 2–1.
It is all thanks to Siphelele Mkhulise and Khuliso Mudau, who netted the winning goals to help the Brazilians maintain their perfect start and reclaim the top spot on the league tally.
The hosts looked aggressive from the get-go, with Peter Shalulile looking to open the scoring in the opening minutes of the match.
It is however, Mkhulise who broke the deadlock six minutes into play. He pounced on Royal AM after a defensive mistake, snatching the ball and finishing it with composure to put it past the keeper.
The encounter was obviously not going to be a walk in the park as the visitors, through their relentlessness, looked to find the back of the net.
In the few chances created by Thwihli Thwahla, Mudau displayed fantastic defending and made careful tackles. Just before the break, Ronwen Williams was also tested with a long-range effort, but the attempt found his bucket hands to keep the score at 1-0 at the break.
The visitors looked more dangerous and comfortable on the ball in the second stanza, forcing Williams into action quite a few number of times. It didn’t take enough time before Bafana Ba Style regained their control and picked up where they left off with creating clear-cut chances.
On the hour mark, Neo Maema and Siyabonga Mabena were introduced. Mabena looked settled as he saw many chances in front of goal, but just couldn’t find the back of the net.
There were more chances from Masandawana in front of goal and their aggression finally paid off when Mudau made it two after Shalulile’s shot was unsuccessful.
The hosts’ clean sheet was ripped off during added time when Royal AM found the back of the net. Despite the tug of war between the two sides in the dying minutes of the match, Downs were able to maintain the lead and collected the maximum points.
