Sundowns sink Pirates in Orlando thriller

Sundowns edged out Pirates 3-1 in an entertaining match at Orlando stadium in Soweto on Wednesday evening.

The two faced each other for the first time this season in a PSL match.

A brace from Downs captain Hlompho Kekana and a goal by Antony Laffor were enough to give the Brazilians the three points they desperately needed.

Going into the match, Downs had an advantage over the Buccaneers.

They had won four of their last five matches against the sea robbers, including a 6-0 annihilation earlier this year.

Downs opened the scoring as early as the first minute through Hlompho Kekana, whose shot deflected in the box and found the back of the net.

Pirates tried to get back in the game but, as they were building momentum, Downs somehow found themselves 2-0 ahead. Kekana scored a blinder from the halfway line with Pirates keeper Wayne Sandilands fumbling the ball.

Pirates tried to fight back and in the 38th minute, they were rewarded after a sublime free kick from Marc van Heerden.

The 29-year-old former Tuks and Amazulu curled the ball with his left foot to give Dennis Onyango in Downs poles no chance.

Downs went into the halftime clinging to a 2-1 lead.

As expected, Pirates came out in the second half and did most of the attacking.

Thabo Qalinge, who has been influential for the home team this season, made things happen.

With the help of Thamsanqa Gabuza, Mpho Makola and Bernard Morrison, Pirates pushed everything forward. However, the Sundowns defence held firm.

The best chance of the second half fell to the main man Qalinge, but he somehow failed to hit the target.

As is the case when teams miss sitters, Downs finished the match off in injury time through a counter-attack by Laffor and Percy Tau. The former smashed a top corner to seal a memorable victory for Downs that saw their unbeaten league record against Pirates stretch to seven games.

Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane was pleased with his troops after the game.

“That’s football for you and God is there, hey. A good team can never be a bad team overnight. Gavin Hunt (Wits University team coach) said football is funny, funny. Other people said football will humble me on Monday,” Mosimane told Supersport TV after the match.

“It has humbled me and it’s still going to humble me again, but tonight God is there for me. God is there for everybody.”

Downs will next face Wits in three weeks’ time.

The Pretoria team are 8th on the log, but have games in hand while the sea robbers occupy 7th spot.

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