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Mokoena cracker helps Sundowns stroll past ten-man Chippa
The away side had Siphesihle Mkhize sent off in just the 24th minute.
Andile Jali (left) played a major role in Sundowns’ opener. Picture: Muzi Ntombela/Backpagepix.
The moment referee Philangenkosi Khumalo flashed a red card at Chippa United’s Siphesihle Mkhize, Kurt Lentjies scratched his head, knowing this his side would have a mountain to climb it they were to stun Mamelodi Sundowns at their Loftus Versfeld stronghold.
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Indeed it was the case as Masandawana dominated proceedings, beating the Chilli Boys 2-0 on the return of the DStv Premiership.
The result saw the Brazilians move 17 points ahead of second-placed Orlando Pirates. Andile Jali forced Sandile Mthethwa to turn the ball into his own net just before half-time and Chippa’s backline have themselves to blame as they failed to clear their lines, allowing Sundowns players to play ping-pong in their box before Jali made the most of their defensive woes and fired at goal.
Mkhize was shown a straight red card in the 24th minute after he committed a rash tackle, leaving the man in the middle with no choice but to send him for an early shower.
Lentjies opted to keep the same personnel at the start of the second stanza, and Chippa stayed on the back foot, using defensive tactics as the likes of Thabiso Kutumela, Jali and Bradley Ralani struggled to break down Chippa’s defensive block.
However, Bafana Ba Style continued to probe until the breakthrough eventually came, and this time it was substitute Teboho Mokoena who doubled up for Downs in the 87th minute.
The 25-year-old, signed from SuperSport in the January transfer window, opened his Sundowns scoring account in fine style, netting a curler from distance, leaving goalkeeper Ismail Watenga to pick up the ball from the back of the net with his head hung in disbelief.
Downs coaches had introduced a couple of players who haven’t had much game time in a while as Gaston Sirino and Gift Motupa were thrown into the fray in the 70th minute.
Motupa last played a game for Masandawana in December last year, which was just a cameo appearance. The striker’s last game prior to that traces back to June 2021.
