Asked whether this was a grudge match in the days preceding this top-of-the-table clash here last night, Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane was in his element: “What grudge? We have won the league, my friend.”
True. Bidvest Wits had to show respect by forming a guard of honour for the new Absa Premiership champions just before kick-off. But it is no secret Gavin Hunt - Mosimane’s counterpart - would have preferred not to. This was a game billed as a potential title decider a few weeks ago when the hunt for the title turned into a two-horse race between these two sides.
You’d think that was still the case given the emotions that ran high on and off the field, Mosimane and Hunt both barking instructions from the dugout to their men. Sundowns struck close to the half-hour mark when Khama Billiat - their top goal scorer and probably their best player this season - tried his luck from range. What do you know; it went in, giving the Brazilians the lead. Billiat also had a little bit of help from Wits goalkeeper Moeneeb Josephs, who was slightly off his line.
It’s perhaps that goal that fuelled tensions in the dugout. Suddenly, a ‘meaningless’ game between first and second on the table, was a thrill-a-minute. There weren’t a lot of clear-cut chances to go around between the two teams, with striker Leonardo Castro coming close to giving Sundowns a second goal on the night on the stroke of half-time. Wits’ best scoring opportunity fell to defender Bongani Khumalo, who rose high in the box to head towards goal, but was denied by a breathtaking save from goalkeeper Denis Onyango.
To have Mosimane and Hunt in the dugout on the same night was a sideshow all on its own. These two coaches have been indirectly having a dig at each other throughout the season, as far back as when Downs beat the Clever Boys 4-2 at Lucas Moripe Stadium in the corresponding fixture in August, where Mosimane praised his ‘quality’ side, while Hunt rued missed chances and poor officiating by the referee.
This palpable desire not to lose against each other has also been fuelled by several reports at the beginning of the season that Sundowns were courting Wits talisman and 2014 Footballer of the Year, Sibusiso Vilakazi, behind their backs to strengthen their team while destabilising theirs. It didn’t go down well with Hunt.
There is another factor - the five league titles between the two coaches following last week’s championship triumph by Sundowns in a ruthless 3-0 victory over neighbours University of Pretoria. Hunt won three consecutive PSL trophies between 2008 and 2010 while he was coach at SuperSport United, a side coached by Mosimane a year before.
“I wasted five years at Safa (as Bafana Bafana for two years and as an apprentice for the top job years prior). Maybe I could have also won some trophies because I am not that unlucky that in five years, with 20 PSL domestic cups, I wouldn’t have won anything. I mean, really,” was Mosimane’s response recently when asked about defending the championship, like Hunt, for instance, did in three consecutive years.
What a time to be alive.
Bidvest Stadium
Bidvest Wits(0) 0
Mamelodi Sundowns(1) 1 - The Star