Shalulile nets a brace, again, as Downs close off season in style

The show belonged to Peter Shalulile but the party was begun by Lyle Lakay, who reminded everybody why he is referred to as the set-piece specialist when he fired a freekick in the 10^th minute to put Mamelodi Sundowns in the lead at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium where they were presented with the DStv Premiership on Saturday afternoon.

Masandawana beat Cape Town City 3-0 to wrap up the league with 19 wins, 10 draws, and one single defeat.

It was another strike from Lakay’s gorgeous left foot as he lifted the ball over the City wall to beat goalkeeper Marc Anderson, who stood no chance. The only thing Anderson could do is hang his hands in the air as though to say ‘well-done Lakay’, as he marked only his third appearance since the departure of Peter Leeuwenburgh.

Sundowns were forced into making a substitution around the half-hour mark when Mosa Lebusa picked up a knock. Brain Onyango was sent on to make his 13^th appearance in the DStv Premiership.

Eric Tinkler introduced Aubrey Ngoma in the 65^th minute, giving him an opportunity against his parent club as he is on loan from Masandawana, who are expected to make a decision on his career in the coming weeks. Ngoma had a chance to net one against Downs when he caught Kennedy Mweene off his line and he tried one from range but his attempt was ballooned over the target.

Cometh the hour, cometh the man Peter Shalulile, who did what he does best in front of goal. He went into the match with 13 goals, trailing Bradley Grobler by three goals, narrowed that to one goal – narrowly missing out on the Lesley Manyathela Golden Boot award – as he netted a brace for the second game running.

The first of his two strikes was a thing of beauty created by Andile Jali and Shalulile tapped in to beat Anderson and ran to the corner flag, as he often does with his long bouncy strides.

On his second strike, he was set-up by Thapelo Morena in the 82^nd minute and after turning Taariq Fielies inside out before firing past Anderson, he did not dance into his extravagant celebration, instead, he quickly retrieved the ball from the back of the net back to the centre line as he was on a hat-trick but it was not to be for the Namibian international.