Sundowns beat Arrows to keep pace with Pirates in neck-and-neck title race

On what turned out to be an entertaining night of Betway Premiership football, 10-player Mamelodi Sundowns beat Lamontville Golden Arrows 2-1 at Loftus on Wednesday night to keep pace with Orlando Pirates.

With this crucial win, secured through goals in either half by Teboho Mokoena (28th minute) and rejuvenated Iqraam Rayners (48th), the Brazilians remain second.

Arrows pulled one back after 78 minutes through Junior Dion from the penalty spot.

Most importantly, Sundowns kept pace with Pirates, who beat Polokwane City 2-1 at Old Peter Mokaba Stadium in Limpopo.

The status remained the same at the top from the two results — Pirates and Sundowns level on points and matches (44 from 19), Bucs leading only by the narrowest margin in goal difference (+23 to +22).

Downs registered their sixth league win in succession, games in which they have scored 12 goals, and look to have overcome their early-season struggles in the league.

For Arrows, it is back to the drawing board for coach Manqoba Mngqithi and his men because the defeat left them in the bottom half of the table in 12th place with 21 points from 19 matches.

Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso made two changes to the team that beat Sekhukhune United 3-1 on Sunday with Nuno Santos and Rayners coming in for Marcello Allende and Brayan Leon.

Rayners was rewarded for his brace against Sekhukhune while Santos was handed a rare start. The changes did not have an effect on the team’s rhythm.

Mngqithi stuck with his tried and tested of key players like Thakasani Mbanjwa, Isaac Cisse, Ayanda Joyane, Dion and Ayabulela Maxwele.

The Brazilians were the first to settle in the match with players like Aubrey Modiba, Khuliso Mudau, Santos, Arthur Sales, Tashreeq Matthews and Rayners causing all sorts of trouble.

Sundowns finally opened the scoring just before the half-hour when Mokoena pounced from inside the box to beat the outstretched arms of stranded keeper Mbanjwa.

This was a delightful team goal, from a move started by Khuliso Mudau, who laid the ball into the path of Aubrey Modiba to execute a clever backheel to tee up Mokoena, who did the rest.

Seeing Arrows under incessant pressure, Mngqithi made an early substitution with Siphesihle Msomi coming on for Sboniso Madonsela in the heart of the midfield shortly before the break.

Downs increased their lead two minutes after the restart when Sales delivered a pin-point overhead pass to Rayners to headed the ball past Mbanjwa at the near post for his ninth goal of the season.

Sundowns suffered a huge blow when, in the 50th minute, influential midfielder Adams was sent for an early shower by referee Siyabulela Qunta for a dangerous tackle on Maxwele.

To create balance in the team, Cardoso sacrificed attacker Sales for midfielder Allende.

It could have been three goals in 63rd but the far side assistant wrongly adjudged Rayners to be in an offside position when he connected a shot from Santos’ cross.

Arrows pulled one back when Dion sent Ronwen Williams the wrong way with his penalty after Mudau was adjudged to have handled in the box.

In Polokwane, Marc Strydom reports, Pirates were made to work hard for their important victory earned via a last-gasp strike by Patrick Maswanganyi over City that preserved their lead.

Relebohile Mofokeng put Bucs ahead in the 52nd minute, looping a header into an exposed net after a goalmouth scramble.

Bonginkosi Dlamini’s strike in the 86th appeared to have earned City a share of the spoils.

In the 91st Deon Hotto’s cross from the left looped over the box to find Maswanganyi steaming in at the far post to bury a volley on the fly.

TimesLIVE