High-flying Downs waltz past Arrows
IRREPRESSIBLE coach Pitso Mosimane continued to celebrate his fifth year at the helm of Mamelodi Sundowns in fine style after his swashbuckling charges regained the premiership top spot and waltzed their way past a tough Golden Arrows at the Princess Magogo Stadium in Durban yesterday.
A sixth-minute half volley from Ivorian defender Bangaly Soumahoro was enough to earn the visitors a deserved 1-0 victory and also gave the Brazilians ownership of the premiership summit‚ forcing overnight temporary leaders Orlando pirates down the table to second place.
Pirates had assumed the premiership top position after drawing 0-0 with title rivals Supersport United at the Orlando Stadium on Saturday night but Sundowns were not to be denied as they regained the lead with the tough away win in Durban.
This result away from home is not to be sneezed at as Arrows have developed a nasty habit of pulling the rug from underneath Sundowns’ feet over the years, but Mosimane’s charges stood their ground.
The Downs coach acknowledged that this was a tough game from which he was happy to have emerged with the crucial three points in the bag.
Surely, even the Brazilians’ staunchest supporters must have feared that the KwaZulu-Natal upstarts would play their regular role as party poopers to absolute perfection by putting a damper on Mosimane’s big week.
But Soumahoro was having none of it as he expertly controlled a deft cross from a Percy Tau corner and with several Arrows players demanding his attention in the area‚ he picked his spot‚ and then calmly beat goalkeeper Nkosingiphile Gumede with a classy overhead volley.
It was a performance-based goal that would have earned Christmas bonuses in a different environment.
In fact‚ it was a beautiful goal that would have made Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo himself delirious with excitement.
Soumahoro will be happy that his coach’s celebrations were not stopped dead in their tracks by Arrows.
It has certainly been an emotional week for Mosimane and his charges were never going to disappoint a man who has led them to the Caf Champions League‚ Caf Super Cup‚ two Absa Premiership titles‚ the Nedbank Cup and the Telkom Knockout.
And while the MTN8 is the only title that Sundowns have never won under Mosimane’s hand‚ the man himself won the title when he was with Supersport United years ago under its previous guise as the SAA Sup 8.
The revered Jingles‚ as Mosimane is known‚ became the first man to make a clean-sweep of all trophies offered in domestic football in the PSL era when he led Sundowns to the Telkom Knockout title against the perennially limping Kaizer Chiefs two years ago.
His assumption of the premiership summit should surely give the former Bafana coach another reason to put his feet up after a satisfying career. Meanwhile, in another PSL fixture, Bloemfontein Celtic claimed the bragging rights in the derby against local rivals Free State Stars, whom they crushed 3-0 at the Dr Molemela Stadium in Bloemfontein yesterday.
A brace from Victor Letsoalo was the highlight of an impressive Phunya Sele Sele performance, which pushed them up to fourth place on the log, while Ea Lla Koto dropped one spot to 10th.