Zwane made a stunning come back from injury with a scintillating performance to help Mamelodi Sundowns brush aside stubborn Stellenbosch FC 3-1 in the Absa Premiership league game at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria Wednesday night.
Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane said he made nine (9) changes to the team that started against Wydad Casablanca in the Champions League in Morocco last Saturday. Yet, the Pretoria club managed to come from behind to claim (three) maximum points in a night clash against Stellies.
Ryan Moon’s pinpoint header gave the visitors a lead on the 35th minute. On the 57th minute, Zwane equalized through a “contested” penalty conversion.
A sore moment arose when Stellenbosch’s Mogamad de Goede was sent off for an early shower after a reckless lunging challenge on Rivaldo Coetzee with 73 minutes of the match played. In the same vein, Sundowns reserve goalkeeper Reyaad Pieterse was also given a red card for remonstrating from the dugout.
Sphelele Mkhulise doubled Sundowns lead on the 85th minute and Keletso Makgalwa hammered the final nail in the coffin on the referee’s optional time [90+4′].
After the Stellenbosch game, Mosimane said he was pleased with the two alternating “strong teams”… Mosimane uses two teams to cope with a barrage of games Sundowns are faced with in order to assist his players get some rest and recuperate to keep them fresh and show up at peak levels. They are “coming up” well and delivering, he added.
His peer on the Stellies bench, Steve Barker, was livid about a “disputed” penalty given to Masandawana on a silver platter. He bemoaned a genuine penalty shout they were denied by the match officials/s. However, he said it is hard to match high-quality teams like Sundowns.
Despite the fact that Mosimane praised Mkhulise and Makgalwa emphatically, he lauded his team for mounting a fight back in the second half, especially in the midst of a hectic schedule.
The performance of the players was impressive, Barker advanced at the end of the game. Stellenbosch FC are still rooted at the bottom of the league table. Tonight’s result was not unexpected but it appeared a hard pill to swallow for the Cape Town side coach.
Masandawana are now level on (24) points with second-placed archerivals SuperSport United. On Saturday Dec. 14, they go toe-to-toe with Maritzburg United in the Telkom Knockout cup final at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.