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Mamelodi Sundowns moved a step closer to securing their eighth successive South African Premiership crown with a convincing 2-0 victory over Cape Town City on Saturday.
The Pretoria giants now require just seven points from their remaining four matches to clinch the title, maintaining a 12-point lead over second-placed Orlando Pirates, who have two games in hand.
Tashreeq Matthews opened the scoring in the 34th minute at Cape Town Stadium, finishing off a sublime through-ball from South Africa international Iqraam Rayners. Rayners then turned scorer in the 77th minute, latching onto a superb assist from Brazilian midfielder Arthur Sales to slot home the second.
Rayners has now netted 11 league goals this season, two behind Golden Boot leader and teammate Lucas Ribeiro.
“Both goals were magnificent,” said Sundowns’ Portuguese head coach Miguel Cardoso. “I’m proud to manage such a humble and hard-working group of players.”
Despite Cardoso’s ongoing frustrations about a congested fixture schedule, his side looked fresh and dominant against the bottom-placed Cape Town side.
After wrapping up their domestic league duties, Sundowns will shift focus to continental and global competitions. They face Egypt’s Pyramids in the CAF Champions League final, with the first leg set for 24 May in Pretoria and the return leg on 1 June in Cairo. The club will then head to the United States to participate in the FIFA Club World Cup, where they’ve been drawn in Group F alongside Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, and South Korea’s Ulsan Hyundai. The top two teams from each group will progress to the knockout stages.
Meanwhile, in Johannesburg, a dramatic Soweto derby unfolded as Orlando Pirates came from behind to defeat Kaizer Chiefs 2-1. Makabi Lilepo stunned the Pirates faithful by giving Chiefs the lead just two minutes in with a sharp strike.
Pirates gradually regained composure, and Evidence Makgopa levelled in the 24th minute, slotting the ball through goalkeeper Bruce Bvuma’s legs. In a stop-start encounter filled with fouls and injury breaks, the winner came in the 69th minute when Relebohile Mofokeng smashed a loose ball into the far corner, sealing the comeback.
The arch-rivals are set to clash again next Saturday in the South African FA Cup final in Durban.
