Randburg hold Sundowns in U14 GDL thriller

Randburg AFC showed great character to earn a hard-fought draw against Mamelodi Sundowns in a pulsating GDL U14 fixture played on home soil.

Sundowns set the tone early, opening the scoring with a well-worked team goal in the first half. But Randburg refused to wilt, and their persistence paid off when they won a penalty just before the break. Captain Mthimkhulu Mpendulo stepped up and converted calmly to send both sides into the interval level.

Read more: Pre-Season thriller ends in Randburg AFC victory

The home side came out firing in the second half. Inathi Godi produced a sensational finish to put Randburg ahead for the first time, sending the home crowd into raptures. Sundowns responded by making three substitutions, and the changes had an immediate impact. Ayabukwa Ntaba levelled with a clever lobbed finish to restore parity.

Just as Randburg looked to regroup, Sundowns struck again from a corner to take what appeared to be a winning lead late in the game. But the hosts had other ideas. With barely minutes left on the clock, Mogale Mosa kept his composure to slot the ball into the bottom corner one-on-one with the goalkeeper, earning his side a well-deserved point.

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Randburg head coach Xolani Mlambo was full of pride after the final whistle. “The word of the day was character,” he said. “Whenever you’re up against it, you have to show character. I couldn’t be more happy because of the character the boys displayed today.”

Sundowns coach Michael Edwards acknowledged his side’s shortcomings despite the draw.

“I was disappointed with the lack of intensity we started the game with,” he said, adding that finishing remains an area for improvement ahead of their next fixture.

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