Mamelodi Sundowns thrash Sparta Rotterdam in Netherlands camp

Mamelodi Sundowns got their second preseason friendly win in succession against a Dutch Eredivisie team when they thrashed Sparta Rotterdam 4-1 on Tuesday.

Downs' Peter Shalulile opened the scoring and got a quick brace in the 23rd and 35th minutes. Downs' new Brazilian signing Lucas Ribeiro Costa added their third in the 57th before Sparta's Mehmet Yüksel pulled one back in the 76th.

Another new signing, Thapelo Maseko, scored Downs' fourth in the 81st.

Sundowns' goalkeeper coach Wendell Robinson said the game went to plan.

“It was exactly what coach Rulani [Mokwena] said even before the game. He said we will start quickly and with a quick start you have to score the goals because if you don’t these guys will have a way of coming back into the game,” Robinson said.

“We started quickly, we actually missed two or three opportunities, but we continued to apply pressure and we got the first goal on a high press and then that kind of calmed us down and we controlled the game from there on.”

Sundowns, who have been training just outside Amsterdam, drew their first friendly of their camp in the Netherlands 2-2 against Belgian Jupiler Pro League outfit Gent on Friday.

The Brazilians beat Eredivisie outfit Go Ahead Eagles 1-0 on Sunday.

Sparta are the less renowned Rotterdam club compared to famous neighbours Feyenoord, but they are a strong team in their own right. The oldest club in Holland, Sparta, have won six league titles since being established in 1888. Feyenoord have won 16 Eredivisie titles.

Sparta finished sixth in the Eredivisie in 2022-23.

Downs have one match remaining in Holland against a third Dutch top-flight team, NAC Breda, on Friday.

The six-time successive DStv Premiership champions kick off their season with their league fixture against Sekhukhune United at Peter Mokaba Stadium on August 4.

TimesLIVE

Support independent journalism by subscribing to TimesLIVE Premium. Just R80 per month.