Sundowns come from behind to confirm No 1 status

KAIZER CHIEFS (1) 1

Chivaviro 9

MAMELODI SUNDOWNS (2) 2

Ribeiro 32, Rayners 37

It was a close affair, though, and Chiefs are sure to argue they were hard done by – Mfundo Vilakazi having found the net at the death with a half-volley from inside the box. The reality,, though is that the referee had blown his whistle for an infringement before the youngster could ‘score’.

Defeated as they were, Chiefs can take some comfort from the fact that they were much more competent than when Sundowns smashed them 5-1 in the corresponding fixture. Nasredinne Nabi’s team actually had a superb second half in which they were held out by the brilliance of Ronwen Williams, who pulled off three fantastic saves.

The South African skipper twice denied Edson Castillo with spectacular saves. Williams first pushed over the Venezuelan player’s header on 62 minutes. Ten minutes before the end, Castillo made a stunning diving header that had goal written all over it, but Williams somehow managed to fling himself in the air to stop it from going in.

If the goalkeeper’s showing must have put a huge smile on Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos ahead of the back-to-back Africa Cup of Nations Cup qualifiers against Congo Brazzaville, the return to action of Khuliso Mudau deep in the second half must have had the silver-haired Belgian coach breathing easy.

The right back (Mudau), who had reportedly fallen out of favour with club-level coach Manqoba Mngqithi, made some timely interception tackles that were celebrated with much gusto by his teammates, Williams in particular.

The earlier celebrations belonged to those in yellow and gold, though, as Chiefs had the kind of dream start that even their most fervent supporters would probably not have expected. Amakhosi raced into the lead before the game was even 10 minutes old.

While Reeve Frosler’s pass from the right was superb, it looked as though Mosa Lebusa had things covered. But, the big defender inexplicably allowed Ranga Chivaviro to beat him to the ball and slotted past Williams. Cue delirium in the stands, the majority of the about 83 000-strong crowd celebrating as though the match had already been won.

It was all premature, though, as Sundowns slowly got into the game, took charge and nearly equalised just after the quarter-hour mark.

Iqraam Rayners side-footed inches wide off-target following a pass from Tashreeq Matthews.

The youngster (Matthews) wasn’t discouraged by his teammate’s miss and went to provide yet another splendid pass, this time for Brazilian Lucas Ribeiro who restored parity with a beautiful left-footer over the flailing Fiacri Ntwaari from an angle inside the box.

Five minutes later, Ribeiro was the provider as he delivered a cross from the right for the unmarked Rayners to slot home the easiest of goals, the former Stellenbosch striker continuing with the remarkable form that has seen him scoring in each of Sundowns’ last four matches.

There was a hint that Ribeiro could have been in an offside position when he received the ball and the Chiefs’ bench protested vehemently until one of their technical team members got booked.

The referee then forced Chiefs to remove the tablet they were watching the match on.

It was a decision Amakhosi did not take kindly to, and they made it known to the officials as they walked off the pitch, haphazardly, at half-time.

Chiefs took out their frustrations in the best possible way by performing well on the pitch and dominating the second stanza so much that it seemed they would manage to get something out of the match.

But they found Williams in an uncompromising mood as Sundowns continued their dominance of the fixture, Chiefs’ evident improvement under Nabi notwithstanding.