Sundowns grab all points in Tshwane derby
The introduction of Zwane in the second half was a game changer as he made a backfoot pass to Rayners, who made a shot into the net.
Mamelodi Sundowns picked up three points in their first league encounter of the season with Tshwane rival Supersport.
The match was played at Loftus Versfeld Stadium and saw the Brazilians grab bragging rights by 2-0 in the Tshwane Derby on Tuesday night.
The hosts kicked off their inaugural Betway Premiership campaign with a squad almost similar to the one fielded at the weekend, and were superb from the time the referee blew the kick-off whistle.
The support from the Yellow Nation was positive from the off, and that was encouraging to the Brazilians, evident in their dominating the ball and the big chances they created.
Ricardo Goss of SuperSport was forced into action several times, the first threat being posed by Iqraam Rayners.
Rayners made a good run to Lucas Ribeiro, who had a chance to shoot, but his angle was too tight.
The away side had only a couple of half chances that fell their way, but were equally not fruitful as Ronwen Williams made clean saves.
Both defences stood firm in the final minutes of the first stanza to keep the score at 0-0 at the break.
The match resumed with both teams continuing the fight.
Shortly after the hour mark, coach Manqoba Mngqithi introduced captain Themba Zwane, Aubrey Modiba, and Tashreeq Matthews.
The introduction of Zwane was a game changer, as he made an assist two minutes into his play.
He made a backheel pass to Rayners, who shot into the net.
Ribeiro extended the lead three minutes later, after knocking on the door from the beginning of the match.
Matsatsantsa almost found the back of the net in the 77th minute, but Williams made a good save as he smacked the ball out to keep a clean sheet.
Both sides looked for goals in the final stages of the match, but the score remained 2-0 until the full-time whistle.
Do you have more information about the story?
Please send us an email to bennittb@rekord.co.za or phone us on 083 625 4114.
For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites: Rekord East
For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram