Mamelodi Sundowns cruised to three Absa Premiership points on Sunday with a 3-0 away win over Polokwane City at the Peter Mokaba Stadium.

Goals from Cuthbert Malajila, Themba Zwane and Teko Modise saw the Brazilians to a third successive league win and lifted them to fourth place on the league table.

As for Rise and Shine, it is a fifth defeat from their last six matches and leaves them second-from-bottom on the table, just one point ahead of basement club AmaZulu.

Polokwane settled the quicker of the two teams and found a fine attacking rhythm that forced Sundowns onto the back foot for most of the first 30 minutes.

As a result of their high intensity and willingness to press high up the pitch, City created half chances for forwards Rendani Ndou and Rogget Nyundu, though neither was able to test goalkeeper Kennedy Mweene.

On 25 minutes, Mweene’s counterpart at the other end of the field, Dino Visser, was called upon to make a good low save after Surprise Moriri directed a glanced header on target.

Ten minutes later, and very much against the general run of play up to that point, the Brazilians broke the deadlock with an excellent team goal.

Teko Modise did most of the work with a fine run and cross from the left, allowing Elias Pelembe to turn the ball inside for Cuthbert Malajila to steer a shot beyond Visser’s right hand.

Polokwane opted for a tactical substitution at the start of the second half – sending on Siphesihle Nzimande in place of Nyundu – but it was ‘Downs who almost changed the score line with another goal, as Visser was forced into an excellent save to palm away a fierce shot from Hlompho Kekana.

The visitors from Tshwane doubled their advantage just before the hour mark, with Malajila turning from scorer to provider. The striker played a perfectly weighted ball for Themba Zwane to run onto before slipping a low shot past the on-rushing Visser to make it 2-0.

In the 73rd minute Modise made it 3-0. The number 10 picked up a superb diagonal ball from Kekana, cut inside a defender and curled a low, right-footed shot into the bottom corner of the net to end the game as a contest.

Polokwane City 0
Mamelodi Sundowns (1) 3 (Malajila 35’, Zwane 59’, Modise 73’)

Polokwane: Visser, Mbhele (Shiba 64’), Mngqibisa, Tshilo, Ngwepe, Maluleke, Alexander, Molala, Majafa (Monama 62’), Ndou, Nyundu (Nzimande 46’)

Sundowns: Mweene, Mphahlele, Schut, Booysen, Langerman, Pelembe, Moriri (Mashaba 56’), Modise, Kekana, Zwane (Mbekile 76’), Malajila (Mashego 65’)