Mudau’s late strike earns dominant Sundowns first leg draw against Chiefs

Khuliso Mudau’s late goal denied Kaizer Chiefs a crucial victory over Mamelodi Sundowns and set up an exciting MTN8 semifinal second leg later this month.   

Mudau scored at the death at FNB Stadium on Saturday which saw the one-sided first leg end 1-1.   

Mudau’s 93rd-minute goal cancelled out Edson Castillo's opener for Chiefs in the 61st. While it was Amakhosi who took the lead, it came from their one real chance in a game where the Brazilians were dominant. 

Downs had full control for almost all of the 90 minutes and if it wasn’t for the work of Chiefs goalkeeper Brandon Petersen the men from Pretoria could have easily claimed a big win in Soweto.    

Chiefs played with little structure, mostly defending for the duration of the match. 

Coming into the game, Amakhosi had gained a bit of confidence in a rocky start for new head coach Molefi Ntseki after they returned to winning ways and won their previous two league games against AmaZulu and Stellenbosch FC — their first two league wins of the season.   

Those results helped ease pressure on Ntseki, who had missiles thrown at him after a defeat against TS Galaxy last month.   

That was Chiefs' third league game without a victory (two defeats and a draw) before their 3-0 victory against AmaZulu.   

But on Saturday Amakhosi were flat in the first half, playing mostly behind the ball and Sundowns enjoying more the two thirds of possession.   

Chiefs finished the half without forcing a save from Ronwen Williams in Sundowns' goal.    The visitors, on the other hand, managed a few shots and elicited some good saves from Amakhosi skipper Petersen, who had an excellent game.   

The keeper showed excellent skill to block Lucas Ribeiro Costa’s thunderous shot from outside the box. Teboho Mokoena and Aubrey Modiba also tried their luck from a distance but saw their shots go wide as Downs continued their dominance.   

Sundowns were dealt a blow in the first half when their star player Themba Zwane had to be stretchered off the pitch after he suffered what appeared to be a serious head injury.   

Zwane, who is in the Bafana Bafana squad for the two coming friendly matches, got hit by Yusuf Maart with a boot to the head. This after Zwane fell on the ground after a challenge by the Amakhosi midfielder. He was replaced by Lesiba Nku in the 37th minute.   

Nku came in and formed a front three with Ribeiro and Neo Maema and the trio continued to terrorise Amakhosi’s defence.   

In an attempt to alter their overly defensive structure in the second half, Ntseki brought in Columbian forward Jasond González for Mduduzi Mdantsane.   

That did not seem to change things as Chiefs' problem was not that they missed opportunities, but that they didn’t create any for their front three of Ashley du Preez, Pule Mmodi and Tebogo Potsane.   

Sundowns kept the hosts under pressure, not allowing them to create any chances for gigantic striker González. 

While the men from the country’s capital failed to put their chances to good use, when Ntseki’s charges finally had their first chance to score they made no mistake. 

Venezuelan midfielder Castillo broke the deadlock with a thunderous header in the 61st minute, his third goal since joining Amakhosi at the beginning of the season.   

Castillo also scored the winner for Chiefs when they defeated Cape Town City away in the quarterfinals and the 29-year-old central midfielder also found the back of the net in Chiefs' first Premiership victory of the season against AmaZulu.   

Against Sundowns, the Venezuelan headed in an excellent cross from Du Preez to set Amakhosi up for a victory against their Pretoria rivals.   

This was the first time that Sundowns found themselves trailing this season. Coach Rulani Mokwena’s charges did their best to get back in to the game and found the equaliser right at the death through Mudau.   

The right-back scored from a header in the 93rd minute from Junior Mendieta’s cross.   

The second leg is at Lucas Moripe Stadium on September 23.