Sundowns drop points again as Sekhukhune hold them to a draw

Mamelodi Sundowns dropped points again in their DStv Premiership title defence after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Sekhukhune United at a lively Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane on Saturday afternoon.

Peter Shalulile scored for Masandawana late in the first half while man of the match and Babina Noko's skipper Linda Mntambo equalised early in the final half of the clash.

Sundowns have now dropped five points from their four matches this season.

They also dropped in their shocking 1-0 defeat against TS Galaxy in their second outing of the season.

Sundowns made a single change to the team that started in the 4-0 win over Kaizer Chiefs, as last season’s midfielder of the season Andile Jali relegated to the bench while Sphelele Mkhulise earned a start.

There were a number of Ethiopian fans at the stadium that came to see their home boy Abubeker Nasir, who has made a great impression in a short space of time in SA.

Nasir, who has impressed in his previous two appearances off the bench where he even scored against Chiefs, didn’t make the match day squad due to injury.

Sundowns completely dominated the opening half while Sekhukhune looked like they came with a plan to just sit back and make sure that the defending champions don’t score.

The hosts defended well until the 45th minute when Shalulile scored his third goal of the season from excellent play by Themba Zwane and Gaston Sirino.

Shalulile also had a goal ruled out for offside on 17 minutes.

Masandawana created a number of goalscoring opportunities before Shalulile’s goal, but were thwarted by Babina Noko’s defence comprising experienced campaigners like the quartet of Daniel Cardoso, Siphosakhe Ntiya-Ntiya, Sello Motsepe and Nyiko Mobbie.

Apart from their excellent defending, Sekhukhune didn’t do anything to trouble the defending champions or force a save from goalkeeper Ronwen Williams.

The Polokwane-based side struggled to build the rhythm as they couldn’t even make five passes to one another without the ball being intercepted by a Sundowns player.

The only time they got to take a decent shot at goal was after 38 minutes of play when Rodrick Kabwe's attempt went wide.

However, coach Kaitano Tembo’s Babina Noko started the second stanza like a house on fire as they scored a goal just seconds into the half.

Sekhukhune got the ball from a Sundowns player in the middle of the park and Tshegofatsho Mabasa set up Linda Mntambo who restored parity when he beat Williams coming from the right side.

Tembo’s charges seemed to play without any fear in the second half as they took the match to Masandawana, which saw the teams deliver end-to-end stuff, but no side could find the winner.

Though Sekhukhune defended the whole of the first half, the draw was a true reflection of the scoreline as the hosts played with more energy going forward in the second stanza.

Sundowns will be hoping to return to winning ways when they welcome Stellenbosch FC at Loftus Stadium in Pretoria on Wednesday (7.30pm) while Sekhukhune travel to Swallows FC on Tuesday (7.30pm).

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