Sundowns edge Durban City to extend winning streak
· Citizen
Mamelodi Sundowns continued their impressive run of form with a narrow 1-0 victory over Durban City in a Betway Premiership encounter at Chatsworth Stadium on Tuesday.
Katlego Ntsabeleng scored the only goal of the night as the Brazilians maintained their two-point lead over Orlando Pirates at the top of the Premiership standings.
The win moved the Tshwane giants to 56 points after 23 matches and extended their remarkable winning streak to 10 successive games.
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Sundowns went into the fixture knowing they couldn’t afford to drop points, with the Buccaneers applying pressure in the title race.
Pirates surged to a 5-0 victory against Golden Arrows in Soweto, but that result had no impact on the standings as Sundowns were also in control of their own match.
Ntsabeleng opened the scoring as early as the 10th minute in KwaZulu-Natal, following some neat interplay with Marcelo Allende on the edge of the box. The winger, who is on loan from Major League Soccer side FC Dallas, calmly slotted the ball into the net after finding himself one-on-one with City goalkeeper Darren Keet.
As expected, Sundowns dominated possession in the first half, but Durban City had a chance to go into the break level. Bokang Mokwena squandered a golden opportunity on the stroke of half-time, shooting wide after skilfully turning his marker inside the box.
Sundowns were quick out of the blocks in the second half and nearly doubled their lead five minutes after the restart. However, Brayan León struck the upright following another flowing attacking move.
With a looming trip to Tunisia for their CAF Champions League semi-final first leg against Espérance, Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso opted to start midfielder Teboho Mokoena on the bench.
The Bafana Bafana star was introduced with 10 minutes remaining as Cardoso sought greater control in the closing stages of the match. It was not a vintage performance from the defending champions, but they did enough to secure maximum points as the title race enters the final stretch.
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With only seven matches remaining, Cardoso will be satisfied with the result as his side shifts focus to the continental competition. Meanwhile, Durban City remain in sixth position on 35 points, bringing an end to their two run of victories in all competitions.