Mandla Ncikazi Sent Off During Tense Sundowns and Pirates Fixture

• Orlando Pirates' assistant coach was sent off during the game versus Mamelodi Sundowns
• Mandla Ncikazi was livid after Ronwen Williams' escaped his challenge on Zakhele Lepasa
• Sundowns maintained their unbeaten start with a 1-0 win over the Buccaneers in Orlando

The game between Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates was not without drama.

The Buccaneers' assistant coach, Mandla Ncikazi was sent off during the tense encounter at the Orlando Stadium on Wednesday night, September 20.

Ncikazi was shown a straight red before the end of the first half after Zakhele Lepasa was tackled outside of the box by Ronwen Williams.

The centre-forward was brought down by the goalkeeper who had rushed out, but the Sundowns shot-stopper was only shown a yellow.

The incident sparked huge outrage from Pirates players and staff, with Thabang Monare shown a yellow as well for arguing with the referee. While he escaped the red, Ncikazi did not.

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The assistant coach was shown a straight red for comments he made on the touchline and then tried to get to the referee after being carded.

The former Sea Robbers’ coach had to be pulled away by coach, Jose Riveiro. Pirates were trailing 1-0 at the time of the incident thanks to a Lucas Ribeiro Costa penalty in the first half.

The Brazilians would hold onto that one-goal advantage and secure a hard-fought win when all was said and done.

Sundowns flying at the top

Masandawana extended their lead at the top of the DStv Premiership table with the win, leading second-placed Golden Arrows by seven points. Both teams have played seven games.

Orlando Pirates find themselves in 11th place, 14 points behind the defending champions. The Buccaneers do have two games in hand, however.

Sundowns coach inspired by Real Madrid manager

Sports Brief previously reported on Sundowns coach, Rulani Mokwena drawing inspiration from Carlo Ancelotti, manager of Real Madrid.

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The Italian veteran has set many records during his time with the Spanish giants and recently surpassed a milestone set by Zinedine Zidane.

Mokwane recently revealed he was re-reading Ancelotti's book for a second time and had already gained insight he missed the first time.