Sundowns brought back down to earth

Loftus Mamelodi Sundowns (0)0 SuperSport United (1)2 Kekana 30, Lungu 79 SUPERSPORT UNITED brought Mamelodi Sundowns back down to earth last night with a crushing defeat that came just after they annihilated Caf’s Club of the Century, Al Ahly, to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League.

Matsatsantsa beat their Tshwane rivals for the first time in the PSL since 2013. Ghampani Lungu, who put the final nail in Sundowns’ coffin after Grant Kekana’s opening goal, was still in high school as a 15-year-old the last time SuperSport won this fixture.

The highly-rated Zambian, who is now 20 years old, helped Matsatsantsa end a long barren run against their more successful neighbours. SuperSport’s win gave Orlando Pirates a big boost in their league title ambitions as Sundowns were not only held back, but they also dropped from second to third place due to Wits having a superior goal difference.

But Sundowns are still in the title race as they trail Pirates by six points with two games in hand. Those games in hand are against Baroka FC and Chippa United. If Sundowns play like they did last night, it will take a miracle for them to catch up with the Buccaneers. Sundowns didn’t show up last night. They lacked aggression to penetrate SuperSport. Ronwen Williams was hardly troubled in his goal.

A more tactically organised SuperSport looked nothing like the whipping boys in blue Sundowns are accustomed to beating in the Tshwane derby. Matsatsantsa were up for the fight in a match they have finished on the losing side so often.

Matsatsantsa frustrated Sundowns with their solid defence. SuperSport knew that Sundowns would look to take the initiative as they came into this match trailing log-leaders, Pirates. Last night’s match was one of those games in hand, which is why Pitso Mosimane barked instructions like crazy. Those changes hurt Sundowns. The Brazilians were pedestrian in their approach against opponents who were hungrier for a win.

SuperSport’s smart defending nullified Sundowns’ attacking strength. The Brazilians were flat, looking threatening in flashes instead of launching wave after wave of attack like it is the case. Emiliano Tade cut an isolated figure upfront with not much support from his teammates.