Red-hot Mamelodi Sundowns continued their remarkable run in the DStv Premiership, beating Royal AM 2-0 on Tuesday night to keep their dream of an invincible season alive.
The win at the Harry Gwala Stadium in Pietermaritzburg saw Sundowns extend their unbeaten run to 51 games. They now look to accomplish a feat that hasn’t been achieved in the PSL era—going the entire season without losing a game.
Last Saturday, Bafana Ba Style edged past Royal AM 1-0 at the Lucas Moripe Stadium. The hero that day was Peter Shalulile, who snatched a dramatic late winner in the 85th minute. Tonight, the script wasn’t too different. Shalulile once again proved his worth, this time finding the net for Sundowns in the 41st minute of the encounter.
Talented midfielder Lesiba Nku added to the scoreline in the 74th minute to earn Sundowns maximum points away from home.
Below are the talking points from this showdown.
RULANI MOKWENA’S BIGGEST CONCERN
Match official Akhona Makalima was Rulani Mokwena’s biggest concern of the night as she was the referee for tonight’s game. Makalima was assisted by Sbusiso Sisilana [1st assistant referee] and Nandipha Menze [2nd assistant referee].
In a pre-match interview with SuperSport TV, Mokwena recalled his past experiences when Makalima was in charge, citing how she traumatised him with her decisions.
“…When I saw the list of referees is a lady Akhona [Makalima], and my mind has a lot of trauma because I got two severe incidents when she was in charge. She sent off Kermit [Erasmus] when he was still with us, and disallowed a goal that Peter [Shalulile] scored against Polokwane City FC. So, I got a bit of trauma, probably my biggest concern when I arrived here,” said Mokwena.
SHORTEST GAP BETWEEN TWO LEAGUE FIXTURES
The game between Royal AM and Sundowns is the joint shortest gap between two league fixtures for the same opponents in PSL history [3 days, 11 and 14 May 2024], as per Opta Jabu statistics.
Other games with similar scenarios were SuperSport United and Maritzburg United [14 and 17 Dec 2005], Orlando Pirates with Black Leopards [24 and 27 Jan 2007], and Chippa United against AmaZulu FC [11 and 14 Dec 2021].
MAMELODI SUNDOWNS PLAYERS RULED OUT OF TODAY’S ENCOUNTER
Sundowns came into this clash without eight of their star players due to injuries.
The eight are Lucas Ribeiro [hamstring injury, stage 1 rehabilitation], Grant Kekana [hamstring injury, stage 1 rehabilitation], Rushine De Reuck [knee injury, stage 3 rehabilitation], Teboho Mokoena [hamstring injury, stage 3 rehabilitation].
Abdelmounaim Boutouil [groin injury, post-operation, stage 1 rehabilitation], Siyanda Nyanga [knee injury, post-operation, stage 3 rehabilitation], Thapelo Maseko [ankle injury, stage 2 rehabilitation] and Bongani Zungu [ankle injury, stage 4 rehabilitation].
The Chloorkop-based outfit was also without defender Mosa Lebusa, who received a red card against Golden Arrows last week.
MAMELODI SUNDOWNS REMAIN UNBEATEN
Masandawana are yet to lose a game in the DStv Premiership this campaign. The Brazilians are the first PSL side to go unbeaten in the first 27 games of the league this term.
The last time the red-hot Sundowns suffered a league game defeat was on 2 September 2022 when they lost 2-1 to cross-town rivals SuperSport United.
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