A league title contest. What contest? Two things could have been decided by an emphatic victory by champions Mamelodi Sundowns. One, it’s going to be difficult for Orlando Pirates or anyone to stop Sundowns from marching to a record-extending eighth successive Betway Premiership title.
Secondly, Sundowns’ Brazilian-born attacking midfielder Lucas Ribeiro may have become an early contender for Player of the Season — his brace (taking his league tally to nine in Sundowns’ 15 league matches) and performance in this 4-1 victory further confirming his superiority, with two well-taken goals in either half.
The win puts the Brazilians nine points clear of Pirates, the team that everyone expected to challenge them for the title. They’ve burst any hope Pirates may have had; the Buccaneers’ frailties were laid bare from the first whistle.
Perhaps losing central midfielder Thalente Mbatha to injury a few hours before kick off exposed the lack of depth at Pirates compared to Sundowns who made four mainly unforced changes to their line-up but still comfortably managed to break not much sweat as they strolled to a 14th win in 15 matches.
Sundowns dominated possession and were first to test Pirates goalkeeper Sipho Chaine before defender Grant Kekana put Sundowns ahead in the 19th minute.
Kekana scored from Marcelo Allende’s well-taken free kick which was cheaply given away by Patrick Maswanganyi — the Pirates playmaker who had been expected to give the visitors the edge in this match.
And then it was Ribeiro’s show. The Sundowns creative attacker collected a loose ball in his own half, carried it into the Pirates area before unleashing a ground shot that left Chaine aghast as the ball kissed the back of the net on the far post.
Pirates never looked relaxed in this match. They never looked like a team in the last eight of the Caf Champions League alongside Sundowns. Never looked like a team that came to the match trailing Sundowns by six points, with a game in hand.
Instead, the whole show was left to Sundowns to dictate. It didn’t help Pirates that Maswanganyi was not playing like a team player, constantly losing the ball (19 times in total) and putting his team under pressure.
Riberio’s goal was down to Maswanganyi having given Kabelo Dlamini a hospital pass, something Maswanganyi was guilty of more than once in the first half.
Pirates did, however, return a better team in the early stages of the second half and raised some hope of making the match a contest when Deon Hotto reduced the score to 2-1 with a deflected shot taken just outside the area.
But that goal prompted Sundowns to step up a gear, this time Rayners put Ribeiro through with a good cross on the left. The Brazilian was outside the area when he received the pass but needed no second invitation to beat Chaine with another low shot to restore Sundowns’ two goal cushion with more than 30 minutes remaining on the clock.
Then it was time for Bafana Bafana midfielder Teboho Mokoena to wrap up the match with his trademark special. With Pirates having lost Makhehlene Makhuala through injury, Mokoena was now free to go forward to do as he pleased.
He received a pass just outside the area and beat Chaine with a stunner that gave Pirates coach Jose Riveiro the heaviest defeat since he arrived two and a half years ago.
With this victory being the 10th in a row, the seventh under new coach Miguel Cardoso, it shows it’s going to take more than what Pirates have tried to stop Sundowns’ dominance.
Sundowns have conceded two goals in seven wins since Cardoso took over from Manqoba Mngqithi on December 10. In their last three league victories — against Lamontville Golden Arrows (4-0), SuperSport United (0-3) and Pirates (4-1) — Sundowns scored a whopping 11 goals and conceded once.
With that form alone, one can concede that the title is destined for nowhere but Chloorkop. Unless a miracle happens in the second round of the season.
Mamelodi Sundowns (2) 4
Orlando Pirates (0) 1
Scorers:
Sundowns — Grant Kekana (19th); Lucas Ribeiro (27th, 58th); Teboho Mokoena (76th)
Pirates — Deon Hotto (55th)
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