Teboho Mokoena has admitted that he was relieved after finally breaking his Mamelodi Sundowns scoring duck in a league match against Chippa United on Tuesday night at Loftus Versfeld Stadium.
The proven DStv Premiership performer, who moved to Sundowns from SuperSport United last year, opened his account this season in the Tshwane giants’ rather dramatic 2-1 win over Morgan Mammila’s men.
The 25-year-old broke the deadlock in the 14th minute with a thumping header from a delightful free-kick delivered by Aubrey Modiba.
Peter Shalulile doubled Mamelodi Sundowns’ lead in the 65th minute before Thabiso Lebitso grabbed the most dramatic of consolation goals for Chippa United.
For Mokoena, this was his 20th appearance in all competitions this season, and the goal gives him some respite.
He walked away with the Man of the Match award for his good display against Chippa.
TEBOHO MOKOENA SHINES
“What a difficult game. We had to dig deep. They gave us a tough time, and I think we deserve the win because we fought very hard,” said Mokoena.
“I have been telling Aubrey to set the free kick because I know how I will run. It’s a good goal, and I’m happy because it’s my first goal of the season, so I have been waiting this moment.
“Sometimes, you have to take one for the team, and I am happy that we won. We took the three points, and we move on.”
With the win, Sundowns cemented their position at the summit of the log standings with a healthy 13-point cushion ahead of their nearest rivals, SuperSport.
They now sit on a ten-match winning streak in the league as they also kept their dominance over Chippa United, whom they have managed to beat in their six meetings.
However, coach Rulani Mokwena was not overly impressed with the way his men applied themselves throughout the game, albeit collecting maximum points.
His counterpart Morgan Mammila felt that his troops gave away two easy goals and that a draw would have been a fair result.
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