Sundowns go three points clear of Pirates after a hard-fought win over Stellies

Mamelodi Sundowns looked impressive as they entrenched themselves on top of the Betway Premiership with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Stellenbosch FC at Cape Town Stadium on Wednesday night.

The Brazilians were playing their first domestic match under new Portuguese coach Miguel Cardoso who also started his tenure with a 1-0 win in the Caf Champions League group match against Raja Casablanca of Morocco in Pretoria on Sunday.

Despite making six changes to the team that beat Raja, Sundowns were strong and dominated Stellies before they opened the scoring through their hosts' former striker Iqraam Rayners.

By the time Rayners scored his fifth league goal of the season in the 17th minute, he had already tested Sage Stephens four minutes earlier.

Rayners took his chance well, rounding off Stephens and placing the ball into the net from an acute angle after receiving an incredible assist from Kabomelo Kodisang.

Aubrey Modiba thought he had doubled Sundowns' lead five minutes after the restart but was unlucky to see his shot hit the upright.

It took Stellies until the 57th minute to get a clear shot at goal and being denied by Sundowns goalkeeper Dennis Onyango who rolled back the years with stunning saves.

Devin Titus did well to cross for Andre de Jong but the New Zealander's header was parried away by Onyango who went on to also block Titus' shot for a corner.

Stellies looked a team likely to score as they bombarded the Sundowns area after coach Steve Barker introduced three attacking players in striker Ashley Cupido, Sanele Barns and Chumani Butsaka just after the hour mark. 

Onyango was again the player to deny Titus 11 minutes from time, this time diving to block the attacker's shot which came off his shoulder after some good interchange of passes by the home side. 

But when under pressure, Sundowns used all the experienced that has seen them being the only club to win the South African league title in the past seven seasons.

This win sees the Brazilians continuing to be the team to beat for the league title as this victory, their eighth out of nine, moves them three points clear of Orlando Pirates, who have a game in hand. 

Two more wins away to KwaZulu-Natal sides, AmaZulu FC on December 24 and Richards Bay on December 28, will see the Brazilians ending 2024 on top of the Premiership and still looking strong to defend the title with a new coach in Cardoso.