Durban — Peter Shalulile scored on his return as Mamelodi Sundowns grabbed a 2-1 victory over Chippa United at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Tshwane on Tuesday evening.
This latest win for Sundowns moved them 13 points clear at the top of the DStv Premiership, and means they have now won ten league games in a row.
The visitors set up a 4-5-1 system that made it difficult for Sundowns to break down. However, Teboho Mokoena scored his first goal of the season when he leaped onto an Aubrey Modiba delivery.
The Bafana Bafana international did incredibly well to dodge his marker and got his head on a delightful cross, opening the scoring in the 14th minute.
Shalulile doubled the host's advantage in the 66th minute with another well-taken header.
Thabiso Lebitso grabbed the consolation goal for Chippa as he got on the end of a Ronaldo Maarman cross and he guided home to offer up potential late jitters for Sundowns.
The 28-year-old, coming off the bench to grab his first set of minutes since the beginning of October, leaped above his marker and connected well with the cross, giving Sundowns a well-earned cushion.
The Brazilians headed into this encounter looking to stretch their already substantial lead at the top of the table to 13 points and a tie against a Chippa coming off defeat looked like the perfect fixture.
The home side made the game look too easy from kick-off as they dominated the possession as expected and restricted the Chilli Boys to few opportunities to create goal-scoring chances.
Sundowns recorded a 67% ball possession to Chippa's 33%, recording four goal attempts to the visitor's one in the opening stanza, a clear indication of supremacy between the two outfits.
For Chippa, the thought of being drawn towards the relegation zone would've been at the back of their minds heading into this encounter with the league unfamiliarly tight in terms of points.
However, this defeat means they'll have to look at their next fixture against Cape Town City for a positive result. For Sundowns, a Pretoria Derby clash against SuperSport United awaits next.
IOL Sport