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M. Gallants ............. 1 M. Sundowns .......... 3 LOEMFONTEIN – Mamelodi Sundowns rose above the reported scandals of players’ disciplinary issues in their camp to book their place in the Nedbank Cup quarter-finals with a 3-1 win over Marumo Gallants at Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein yesterday.
Peter Shalulile scored a controversial hat-trick while Gallants’ only goal was a stunner from Boitumelo Pheko. Hours before the game, TimesLIVE published a story about Sundowns being rocked by incidents of two of their big-name stars, Andile Jali and Sipho Mbule, allegedly arriving for training at their base at Chloorkop under the influence of alcohol.
Other media reports suggested that a certain first team player tested positive for an illegal substance. The two sides, which were the finalists in last season’s edition of the competition, delivered an exciting match in a venue that has not enjoyed a lot of football since Bloemfontein Celtic was sold to Royal AM in 2021.
Sundowns’ technical team will be happy with Shalulile scoring again as he works his way to full fitness, after some time nursing an injury. He now has scored four goals in two games as he was on the scoresheet in the 2-2 draw against Al Ahly in the CAF Champions League.
Both Sundowns and Gallants were fresh from their involvement in the continental tournaments. Sundowns are in the group stages of Champions League, while Gallants are campaigning in the Confederation Cup group stages. Both sides have done well in Africa so far with Sundowns leading their group with seven points from three outings.
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