High 5! Comfortable Mamelodi Sundowns cruise to fifth consecutive league title

Themba Zwane of Mamelodi Sundowns has been a key player in their title challenge. Picture: Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix

Themba Zwane of Mamelodi Sundowns has been a key player in their title challenge. Picture: Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix

Published Apr 27, 2022

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Pretoria - Mamelodi Sundowns are the champions of South African football – yet again!

Sundowns have achieved the feat with four games to spare after playing to a goalless draw with Cape Town City FC in a DStv Premiership match at Loftus Versfeld on Wednesday night.

Sundowns have won the league with 58 points so far and could end the season with 70 points.

Sundowns' triumph this season meant that they’ve won the league for a record fifth successive campaign - a record-breaking 12th title overall.

Sundowns are now on course to win a second domestic treble in three seasons – a first for coaching duo Rulani Mokwena and Manqoba Mnqgqithi – as they have won the MTN8 earlier this season and are still gunning for Nedbank Cup glory when they face Royal AM on Saturday.

Sundowns were shocked by Petro de Luanda in the quarter-finals of the CAF Champions League this past weekend - their third successive loss in the last eight of the competition. But a fifth league title would have cushioned that blow and they are now free to focus on the Nedbank Cup.

Sundowns have been so good this season that the title race was always in their hands. On their wat to the championship, they won 17 games, drew seven and lost only two matches to AmaZulu and Maritzburg United respectively.

The crowd attendance was not great compared to the numbers that turned out for their Champions League’s clash against Petro in Soweto. However, the Sundowns faithful still made their voices heard from start to finish as they witnessed history in the making.

The Sundowns party nearly got off to a perfect start in the fifth minute of the match. With his back against the wall, Themba Zwane set-up a well-positioned Neo Maema who had ample time to turn and shoot, but his bullet effort was parried away by goalkeeper Hugo Marques.

Rushine De Reuck also came close to finding a goal for the Brazilians after rising high in the box to connect with an Aubrey Madiba set-piece, but he put his glancing header over the crossbar.

Marques was the busiest of the two goalkeepers, but Denis Onyango, who has now won a record ninth league title, was well protected by his defence. It was his namesake Brian Onyango who carried out most of the work.

City didn’t sit-back and wait on Sundowns to take the game to them. Far from it. Their ball players in the engine room, Mduduzi Mdatsane and Mpho Makola, were impressive. However, a combination of Sundowns’ solid defence and the Cape side’s poor finishing let them down.

Darwin Gonzalez was the biggest culprit when it came to poor finishing. He missed their biggest chance from close-range with a curling effort after being set-up by Terrence Mashego in the first half.

With time winding down in the first half, Sundowns continued with their search for a goal. But they failed in their pursuits, with Zwane also firing a close-range effort into the stands.

The Citizens started the second half on a high note. So much so that they had a great chance to grab the lead in the 51st minute after delightful build-up play. But Mdantsane, who twisted and turned his marker inside the box, put his shot wide.

There were few chances that were created in the second half, with Sundowns’ best chance coming from Modiba. But the Sundowns wing-back, who walked away with the Man-of-the-Match award, shaved the roof of the net effort from close-range.

In the end, though, Sundowns held on for a precious point that ensured that they were crowned the kings of the land for a record fifth successive season to keep their chances of winning a domestic treble alive.

@Mihlalibaleka