That pastor has nothing on Benni
Cape Town City (0) 2 Erasmus 51, David 87 Mamelodi Sundowns (1) 1 Maboe 14
CHRIS DAVID announced his arrival in the Mother City in style, scoring a stunning free-kick on debut to help Cape Town City avenge their 3-2 loss to Sundowns at Loftus last week.
City once again needed a fiery halftime team talk from coach Benni McCarthy for them to wake up from their slumber and show what they are worth.
The pastor who resurrected a man from the “dead” has nothing on the former Bafana Bafana forward who just knows what to say to bring his team back to life after looking dead and buried in the first half.
He showed that power against Wits last week and did it again to stun the reigning PSL champions who went to Cape Town at the summit of the league standings. Sundowns will return to Chloorkop now in second place, a point behind Orlando Pirates who could have had a healthier lead had they beaten Bloemfontein Celtic instead of drawing 1-1 yesterday.
Just like they did seven days ago in this corresponding fixture, Sundowns took an early lead through a wellworked team goal. Hlompho Kekana stole the ball at the heart of midfield and powered his way forward before playing the ball to Emiliano Tade.
The Argentine played a delicate ball into the path of Lebohang Maboe who beat Edmilson Dove and Taariq Fielies for pace, and then produced a strike that left Peter Leeuwenburgh flat-footed.
Once they took the lead, Sundowns slowed down the pace of the match in a bid to frustrate a plucky City team who were cautious in their approach. The Brazilians slowed down the game to put their opponents into a false sense of confidence before breaking in breath-taking pace. City played like they have been doing under McCarthy, they took the match to Sundowns and showed little respect for the eight-time PSL champions.
The only “respect” that City gave Sundowns was to start with the hard-working Zukile Kewuti and the bulldozer that is Siphelele Ntshangase upfront to complement Erasmus’ clever runs and positioning.
McCarthy’s halftime team talk once again fired up his team, waking them up from their slumber. Erasmus’ thunderous strike brought City back into the game.
They played with their usual arrogance after that, dropping the conservative approach they displayed in the first half. David came in late to help City record a famous win.