Both sides came into this encounter in lukewarm form, following 1-1 all draws in their respective matches at the weekend, but it was ‘Downs who turned up the temperature in the second minute with a goal from Neo Maema.
Thapelo Morena, who produced a man of the match performance with two assists. Picture: @Masandawana
The top of the DSTV Premiership table has a familiar look about it, after Mamelodi Sundowns reached the summit – if only momentarily – on Wednesday evening with an efficient 3-0 victory over Stellenbosch FC at Loftus Versfeld.
Neo Maema, Peter Shalulile and Marcelo Allende, on debut, were on target for the defending champions as they racked up their third win of the season to take them to 10 points after five matches.
Both sides came into this encounter in lukewarm form, following 1-1 all draws in their respective matches at the weekend, but it was ‘Downs who turned up the temperature in the second minute with a goal from Maema. Stellies were unable to clear their lines – after a clever turn and shot from Gaston Sirino, Maema pounced and coolly slotted it in the back of the net.
Sundowns dominated possession in the early exchanges and had opportunities to double their lead. Sirino was a livewire in attack but had to be taken off with an injury after 20 minutes. He was replaced by Thapelo Morena, who produced a man of the match performance with two assists.
The visitors did trouble the defence on occasion, but found a resolute Ronwen Williams in goal and an equally formidable defensive pairing of Rushine De Reuck and Brian Onyango.
The crowd of a few thousand in attendance provided a lively and loud atmosphere in the capital, and they were on their feet again when Teboho Mokoena’s shot from outside the penalty area had beaten Stellies keeper Sage Stephens, but smacked the crossbar. The second goal did come soon though, and it was the inevitable Shalulile who caught defender Mogamad De Goede napping to score his 4th goal of the campaign.
The Cape side came storming out of the gate in the second period and showed an attacking intent that had been missing from their game in the opening half. Williams was tested a couple of times, but was equal to the task.
Morena and Shalulile did well with their link up play, and holding the ball up for oncoming teammates, as several waves of attack were desperately prevented.
The introduction of Chilean Marcelo Allende caused a bit of excitement inside the stadium, and he did not disappoint the Yellow Nation as he scored 8 minutes into his debut.
Morena had a chance to make the scoreline more emphatic, with a minute left to play, but was blocked by Stephens from point-blank range.
It was a convincing victory for the Brazilians, who are starting to find the rhythm in their play, and in stages looked like the team that has dominated the local league for the past 5 years.
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