Super Sundowns sink Pirates to make it 15 wins on the spin

Mamelodi Sundowns continued with their dominance in the DStv Premiership as they edged Orlando Pirates 1-0 in an electrifying encounter at the Orlando Stadium on Saturday.

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Sundowns have now taken their winning streak in the league to 15 games, and in the process they ended Pirates’ own small run of three victories in row.

The Brazilians took their points tally at the top of the log to 55 in 21 matches, whereas Pirates remained with 28 after 19 games and are in fourth spot.

The home side had a terrible start into the game – a mistake from the back while trying to start a build-up saw Sundowns steal the ball and the in-form Cassius Mailula was able to find the back of the in the sixth minute.

Promising Pirates

In the 17th minute, Pirates had a promising attack on the left side through Deon Hotto, but his last pass went straight to Ronwen Williams in the Downs goal instead of his teammates.

Momentum in the Bucs team grew as the game went on as they made several openings, even having a penalty shout after Thabang Monare was brought down inside the box by Mailula just after the half-hour mark, but the referee waved play on.

From then on, it was attack after attack from both ends of the field, with Pirates looking dangerous, especially through Monnapule Saleng.

But the Buccaneers were also shaky at the back, which could have easily allowed Sundowns to go into the break with more than a 1-0 lead.

The beginning of the second half was more tense, with the Pretoria outfit looking for a second goal, while Pirates were eager to level the scores, but Saleng’s chance in the 55th minute hit the side-netting, before Vincent Pule was denied by the post a couple of minutes later.

With time running out, Pirates were starting to become desperate to get a goal, which saw them making a lot of mistakes.

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Mailula could have easily scored his second goal of the match in the 83rd minute, but Bucs goalkeeper Sipho Chaine was able to keep his team’s hopes of coming back into the game alive.

But there was nothing more the home side could do in the game, and Sundowns walked away with the three points as they stroll towards another title.