Mamelodi Sundowns seal eighth straight Premiership title

Mamelodi Sundowns have cemented their dominance in South African football after securing an unprecedented eighth consecutive league title with a commanding 3-0 victory over Chippa United in a Betway Premiership clash at Buffalo City Municipality Stadium on Wednesday night.

An Iqraam Rayners strike and a brace by Arthur Sales were enough as the Brazilians moved to an unassailable tally of 70 points with one match left to play. 

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Sundowns needed only one point to secure the championship, but they bagged all three to register their 23rd win of the season. As expected, Sundowns dominated the early exchanges with Lucas Ribeiro and Rayners threatening the Chippa goal. 

It didn’t come as a surprise when Rayners opened the scoring in the 11th minute after weaving his way into the box before expertly placing his shot in the top corner.  It was the former Stellenbosch FC striker’s 14th goal of the season which puts him level on top of the goal scoring charts with teammate Ribeiro. 

The goal spurred on Masandawana who were looking to kill off the game in the opening 45 minutes, but Chippa goalkeeper Darren Johnson produced a number of good saves to keep his side in the game. 

Sales came off the bench to seal the win with a brace late in the second stanza. His first goal was a fortuitous one in the 69th minute. The Brazilian’s attempted cross from the right caught Johnson off guard to sneak into the back of the net after hitting the woodwork. 

Johnson, who had a decent game, was also at fault for Sundowns’ third goal. He gave the ball away to Sales in the box and the lanky striker punished him on the stroke of full time.

The win gave Miguel Cardoso his first piece of silverware at Downs after taking over from Manqoba Mngqithi last December. Since joining the Chloorkop-based side, the Portuguese coach has overseen 20 league matches, recording 17 wins, two defeats, and one draw.

His biggest victory margin came in February with a dominant 4-0 win over Golden Arrows. The only setbacks in Cardoso’s tenure were losses against Orlando Pirates and TS Galaxy, while Arrows were the only team to hold Sundowns to a stalemate under his leadership.

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If the Tshwane giants win their final game of the season against Magesi FC, they will equal last season’s total of 73 points which they achieved under Rulani Mokwena. Following the match against Magesi, Sundowns will turn their focus to the two-legged CAF Champions League final against Pyramids FC of Egypt later this month.