Sundowns go top with Maritzburg win

Mamelodi Sundwons moved top of the Absa Premiership standings with a 3-0 win over Maritzburg United at the Lucas Moripe Stadium in Atteridgeville on Saturday evening.

Themba Zwane, Tebogo Langerman and Suprise Moriri condemned the visitors to their seventh straight league defeat.

Having failed to find the back of the net in midweek, Sundowns made their intentions clear early on with Ramahlwe Mphahlele seeing his looping header cleared off the line by Philani Zulu.

Having gone within inches of the opening their account moments earlier, Pitso Mosimane's men got back to scoring form in the ninth minute of the match as Zwane scored a goal.

Teko Modise played a superb through ball to his midfield partner, who took one touch before firing into the back of the net via the inside of the post.

Maritzburg offered little in attack with Wayne Sandilands restricted to a succession of easy takes from Team of Choice set-pieces.

Brian Onyango was imperious in the Maritzburg defence, almost single-handedly keeping Sundowns at bay for the rest of the half.

Anthony Laffor clipped in a ball to Modise, but he was unable to find the back of the net with that man Onyango providing a timely block to deny the hosts in the 41st minute.

Despite going a goal down early on in the clash, Maritzburg were still in the game at the break.

Mphahlele looked to change that early on in the second stanza with his audacious attempt from an acute angle flying just over Virgil Vries’s crossbar.

Clive Barker introduced Evans Rusike soon after with new man Abia Nale making way as the visitors went in search of only their fifth goal of the league season.

At the other end of the park Vries pulled off a top save to deny Keagan Dolly in the 55th minute. Leandro Castro pulled the ball back and into the path of the in-from winger who was brilliantly denied by the Nambia gloves man.

Sundowns though finally doubled their lead in the 66th minute. Langerman, no stranger to playing further up field, brought down a long through ball by Modise with a superb first touch before striking a powerful shot into the corner of the net.

Mohamed Anas almost had the desired impact off the bench for Maritzburg with the striker dragging his shot wide of Sandilands's goal in the 74th minute.

It was Sundowns' night though, with Moriri rising from the bench to put the icing on the cake in the 90th minute - Mphahlele finding the veteran midfielder who showed great composure before beating Vries for his first goal of the season.

Mamelodi Sundowns (1) 3 ( T.Zwane 9' Langerman 66' Moriri 90')
Maritzburg United 0

Sundowns: Sandilands; Langerman, Arendse, Nthethe, Mphahlele, Kekana, Modise, T.Zwane, Laffor (Mbekile 72'), Dolly (Moriri 84'), Castro (Mashaba 57')

United: Vries; De Jongh, Mngonyama, B.Onyango, Zulu, Nale (Rusike 53'), Nene, M. Mekoa (Anas 73'), Banda, Lentjies (Shai 86'), Hartog