OPINION: Sundowns’ title stroll should help them in the Champions League
Sundowns have made a habit of getting clutch wins in the final stretch, fending off both Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates for the title.
Mamelodi Sundowns, seen here lifting a third Premiership title on the spin, are pretty much certain to grab a fourth in a row too. Picture: Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix.
Most of the time, when Sundowns have claimed the DStv Premiership title in recent years, they have always done the business themselves and avoided relying on other teams to do them favours, when it comes to capturing the biggest prize in South African domestic football.
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The ball is in their court again this season, and the situation does not demand much from them. After Baroka FC beat AmaZulu 1-0 on Tuesday, to give Sundowns some breathing space, they now require just one win from their last four games to secure the DStv Premiership.
All of this should stand them in good stead on Saturday, when they take on Pitso Mosimane’s Al Ahly in the Caf Champions League. Yes, the Tshwane giants need one more victory to seal their Premiership success, but realistically they will get that, possibly even against SuperSport United in the Tshwane derby on May 26.
It is a cruise compared to last season, when Masandawana did need a bit of luck in the final game of the campaign, where Baroka had to hold Kaizer Chiefs to a draw in order for Sundowns to leap rog Amakhosi, who had been at the summi from the first day of that season.
Even so, had Downs not won their game against Black Leopards, the stalemate between the Glamour Boys and Bakgaga would not have helped them.. Sundowns won 3-0 against Lidoda Duvha. In the 2018/19 season, Sundowns were taking turns as leaders of the log with Orlando Pirates and in the end, it was Downs’ experience that helped them to beat the Buccaneers.
Sundowns ‘coach at the time, Pitso Mosimane, made a bold statement, saying they would go on to win their last five games of the season, and indeed they did and ended up with a tally of 59 points, edging Pirates by two points, as they drew their second-last game 2-2 against Cape Town City in the Mother City.
The previous campaign was the Sea Robbers neck-to-neck with Masandawana, and this time, Sundowns did not quite run rampant with the results, but they collected more points than Pirates and did not lose any of their last five games.
This time around they need just one victory and they will set a new record of winning the league four times on the spin. Everything is possible under the sun and as the age-old saying goes – it’s not over until the fat lady sings – but really, there is very little chance that Sundowns will fail to get one win in the last four league games to put the whole thing to bed.
