Champions Mamelodi Sundowns ended the 2020/21 DStv Premiership season with a commanding 3-0 win over Cape Town City at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Saturday.
Goals from Lyle Lakay and Peter Shalulile (two) handed the Brazilians a 19th win of the league season – a campaign in which they only suffered one defeat. Sundowns ended the season 13 points clear at the top while City claimed a seventh-place finish.
Lakay got the champions off to the perfect start with a trademark free-kick against his former employers. The left-back’s sweetly struck attempt in the 10th minute left City goalkeeper Marc Anderson rooted to his spot.
Sundowns should’ve doubled their lead six minutes later. Shalulile beat the offside trap and raced through on goal but could only succeed in dragging his effort wide of the post.
City finally registered a shot in anger in the 40th minute. Fagrie Lakay out-paced Ricardo Nascimento and burst into the penalty box before taking aim at goal, but Kennedy Mweene was perfectly positioned at his near post to thwart the danger.
Shalulile went close once more on the cusp of halftime. The Namibia international out-jumped his marker at a corner-kick but was unlucky to see his headed effort fly inches wide.
The Citizens conjured the first chance of the second-half. Mduduzi Mdantsane took aim from inside the area in the 49th minute, but Mweene was up to the task once more.
Mpho Makola came even closer moments later from a corner-kick, but Thapelo Morena was aware of the threat and cleared the midfiedler’s goal-bound header away from danger.
Lyle Lakay came close to completing his brace just after the hour mark, but Anderson made a good save to keep out the Sundowns star’s dipping set-piece.
Shalulile finally got his goal in the 76th minute and in rather spectacular fashion. The Sundowns forward bamboozled the City defence before firing a low shot into the corner of the net for his 14th league goal of the campaign.
The Namibian forward made it 15 for the league season six minutes later. An inch-perfect through ball from Morena found Shalulile with only the goalkeeper to beat and he made no mistake.
Fagrie Lakay and Mweene renwened their duel at the other end of the pitch in the 86th minute but Zambian shot-stopper pulled off a spectacular double save to deny the visitors; first to stop Lakay and then Justin Shonga’s follow-up effort.
Shalulile came within inches of a hat-trick on the day and a share of the golden boot award in stoppage-time, but he was cruelly denied by the woodwork. In the end, it mattered little in the greater context of things as Sundowns ended a dominant campaign on a high.
Mamelodi Sundowns (1) 3 (Lakay 10′ Shalulile 76′ 82′)
Cape Town City (0) 0
Mamelodi Sundowns: Mweene; Lakay, Lebusa (B.Onyango 30′), Nascimento, Morena, Jali, Maboe (Vilakazi 83′), Mkhulise (Kekana 83′), Modiba (Domingo 67′), Sirino (Mkhuma 67′), Shalulile.
Cape Town City: Anderson; Mashego, Mobara, Fielies, Mkhize, Mokeke (Martin 78′), Mdantsane, Ajagun (Shonga 46′), Ralani (Ngoma 65′), Zulu (Makola 46′), Lakay.
SOURCED FROM THE PSL WEBSITE.
