Iqraam Rayners came off the bench to inspire Mamelodi Sundowns to a 3-1 victory over Sekhukhune United in their league match at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Sunday.
The match was seemingly heading for a 1-1 draw before Rayners came in to replace Tashreeq Matthews in the second half and netted a brace to guide Sundowns to a comfortable win.
Masandawana have also completed a double over Sekhukhune after beating them 2-0 in Polokwane. It was the same as last time when the two teams met with Sundowns scoring late to win 2-0 at Peter Mokaba Stadium.
With Orlando Pirates winning on Saturday against Kaizer Chiefs in the Soweto derby to go three points clear at the top, Sundowns came into this game lying second and needed to win to reclaim the top position and responded in style.
Sundowns remain second on the log table with Pirates first due to their superior goal difference.
The Brazilians made two changes from their last match against AmaZulu as Marcelo Allende and Sales were recalled, while Monnapule Saleng started on the bench and came on late in the second half to make his debut and an immediate impact.
Sundowns made a dominant start by showing their intentions of winning the match and were patient with their build-ups. They created better chances and their patience finally paid off when Marcelo Allende, who scored the only goal against AmaZulu in their 1-0 win, netted on the half-hour mark to give them a deserved lead.
Allende collected a pass from Sales before firing into the top corner from just outside the box with the Sekhukhune defence caught ball watching.
Babina Noko looked for a way back but struggled to break down the hosts who went into the interval with a slender lead. Sekhukhune continued to struggle in the second half and hardly troubled Sundowns goalkeeper Ronwen Williams.
Sundowns continued to dominate and had chances to increase their lead but were not clinical in the final third.
They were made to rue their missed chances as Bradley Grobler equalised with a header against a run of play to make it 1-1 from Vuyo Letlapa’s cross.
Saleng, who came in late as a second half substitute made an immediate impact as he created a second goal scored by Rayners towards the end of the match.
Rayners completed his brace in injury time to help Sundowns to a 3-1 victory and level on 41 points with Pirates at the top.
Elsewhere, Durban City beat Marumo Gallants 1-0 at Lucas Moripe Stadium.
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