Sundowns sprint past Chiefs
Title-race finish falls flat as Mamelodi open six-point gap at top of PSL table
HOPES of a drama-filled, down-to-the-wire finish to the Premier Soccer League season fell flat at the weekend and the title could be decided as early as Wednesday – three weeks before the scheduled end of the season.
Victory for front-runners Mamelodi Sundowns in a controversy-marred success over Kaizer Chiefs ensured a six-point gap at the top after Bidvest Wits continued their inconsistent form and had their hopes punctured by a 1-1 home draw with Chippa United.
Saturday’s results mean that if Wits fail to win away at fifth-placed Mpumalanga Black Aces tomorrow, then Sundowns can wrap up the title against relegation-threatened University of Pretoria in their derby on Wednesday.
It would hand them the title with two games still to go and render a damp squib their much-anticipated clash with Wits on May 11.
The Tuks Stadium on the university’s sports campus in the leafy suburbs of the capital will be an odd venue to mark a momentous year for Sundowns, still on course to break the record for the most points in a single PSL season if they win all remaining matches.
That will take them to 71, two more than the mark of 69 that Chiefs set last season for the best return since the league was reduced to 16 teams more than a decade ago.
Beating Chiefs 3-1 was particularly satisfying for Sundowns, who came from a goal behind in a mad-cap game that included a handball goal, a penalty, a red card, an own goal and contentious refereeing decisions.
“It was a really big win in which we showed a strong mentality,” Mosimane said.
“It hasn’t been rosy for us over the last weeks, but I told my players to forget the cup losses we had suffered and to focus on the log where we have been top for long.”
Mosimane said questions about whether he was pushing his team to their limits by fielding largely the same starting 11 through two tough games a week over the last month were legitimate.
“I’m stubborn, that’s why I didn’t change the team.”
But there were few signs of any mental and physical breakdown as they pressed Chiefs out of the game.
“My players got irritated and I had to try and calm tempers down,” Steve Komphela said. Chiefs remain in third spot but could be dislodged if Platinum Stars beat Orlando Pirates at home today.
• Granwald Scott missed out on silverware with Slovan Bratislava as his side were beaten 3-1 by Trencin in the Slovak Cup final at the weekend.
Despite his team taking the lead early in the second half, they were not able to maintain it and so an opportunity for a South African to lift a trophy in Europe was gone.
Hopes are now pinned on Thulani Serero winning the Dutch League with Ajax Amsterdam. Additional reporting by Nick Said
