Staff Reporter.
Mamelodi Sundowns made it six wins in a row in the Premier Soccer League when they edged out Maritzburg United 1-0 at Loftus Versfeld Stadium.
The result – secured by a brilliantly-taken goal from Peter Shalulile – sees Sundowns extend their unbeaten start to the season to eight matches, reclaim a three-point lead at the top of the log (with a game in hand) and secure a South African league record by keeping an 11th straight clean sheet.
United, meanwhile, suffered a fifth defeat and find themselves 11th on the log – five points clear of the relegation zone and two points adrift of the top half.
The Brazilians should have claimed the lead on 37 minutes when Shalulile was able to find a pocket of space in the penalty area, cutting back onto his right foot to shoot, but his effort flashed over the crossbar.
The Team of Choice enjoyed a strong spell of pressure late in the first half, putting together some impressive passing sequences, but they lacked the final killer ball to open up Sundowns and create a clear chance for striker Amadou Soukouna.
After a goalless first half, Sundowns nearly broke the deadlock eight minutes into the second stanza, with Themba Zwane setting Pavol Safranko free to run at the Maritzburg defence before forcing Engelhardt into a fine save with a low drive from the edge of the box.
That scare should have warned Maritzburg that Sundowns were moving through the gears, but they could do nothing to prevent Shalulile from finding the back of the net in the 56th minute.
A superb ball over the top of the defence from Neo Maema picked out the Namibian striker’s run and Shalulile provided a deft, first-time volleyed finish over Engelhardt to put the Brazilians in front.
Sundowns had further chances from which they tested Engelhardt, but in the main, the rest of the match was an exercise in controlled possession as the Tshwane side closed up shop and ensured they picked up a seventh win from eight league outings in 2021-22.
Meanwhile Cape Town City left it late to claim a 1-0 win over Chippa United in a DStv Premiership match played at the Cape Town Stadium on Wednesday evening.
Elsewhere the DStv Premiership fixture between AmaZulu and Marumo Gallants, which was abandoned on Wednesday, has been rescheduled to Thursday at King Zwelithini Stadium and will kick-off at 3:30pm CAT (SA, GMT+2).
The Premier Soccer League (PSL) is awaiting the match commissioner’s report which will be referred to the League’s Prosecutor.
“The League wishes to apologise to our Broadcast partner, SuperSport (who have agreed to broadcast the match), our sponsor DStv and football fans for this unfortunate incident,” read a statement.
The DStv Premiership fixture between AmaZulu FC and Cape Town City, which was scheduled for Saturday, will now be played on Sunday (same venue and kick-off time).
While the fixture details for the Marumo Gallants and Mamelodi Sundowns match on Sunday will remain the same.
Other PSL Results:
Chippa United 0 – 1 Cape Town City.