Sundowns Dig Deep to Edge Royal AM in Tough DStv Premiership Tie, SA Reacts

• Sundowns managed to bag all three points against a stubborn Royal AM in a DStv Premiership tie
• The win ensures the Brazilians maintain their unbeaten run of 14 matches so far this season
• Local soccer-loving fans rushed to social media to heap praise on Sundowns for the incredible win

Mamelodi Sundowns were very nearly held by a spirited Royal AM before closing out an exiting DStv Premiership clash 3-2 at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Wednesday.

This victory takes the Chloorkop-based side, who have now gone unbeaten in 14 matches this campaign, to 34 points at the top of the table. Royal AM, meanwhile, dropped points for a second successive match, having gotten the short end of the stick against AmaZulu in their previous outing.

The Brazilians opened the scoring through Thabiso Kutumela, who volleyed home after Royal defender Mzwanele Mahashe, attempting to clear a cross by Thapelo Morena, headed the ball into his path in just the sixth minute.

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Bafana ba Style attempted to press their advantage forward, forcing Nyame to produce an incredible acrobatic save to keep Neo Maema out after 21 minutes. Maema nearly pocketed the scintillating attempt as it rifled into the danger area from outside the box.

Mweene to the rescue

Royal, who weren't interested in being pinned down and watching Sundowns run away with proceedings, managed a counterattack after Tebogo Potsane was sent into the 18-yard area by his captain Ndumiso Mabena.

However, Sundowns' shot-stopper Kennedy Mweene was up to the task of keeping the threat at bay. Royal came close to levelling matters as the halftime whistle loomed after a dipping pass from the midfield spurred Mabena into action, with his resulting shot being parried away by Mweene for a corner.

In the 65th minute, Sundowns added to their lead with a tap-in from the on-form Peter Shalulile, who connected with a scintillating cross that was delivered into the box by Thapelo Morena. The former registered his second brace with less than 20 minutes on the clock.

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Victor Letsoalo made sure to grab his brace from the penalty spot as the match trickled to a close. This is after referee Thando Ndzandzeka adjudged Rushine de Reuck, who'd collected a cross from Motebang Sera, to have handled the ball in the area.

Nearly lose the plot

Sundowns will be looking to continue on their winning ways when they visit SuperSport United at Lucas Moripe Stadium in the Tshwane derby, while Royal AM will play host to Golden Arrows at the Chatsworth Stadium, TimesLIVE reported.

Sundowns co-coach Rulani Mokwena acknowledged that it wasn't his side's best performance in the match, conceding that the team could have done more to bag a more convincing result, Soccer Laduma reported.

“We won’t spend a lot of time on this match because we won [and] we move on. But the less I say, the better. Look, we also didn’t do our part as coaches. I think we didn’t prepare the team very well, and you could see with the performance we struggled a little bit," Mokwena told SuperSport in a post-match interview.

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Downs fans chuffed with run

Regardless of the scrappy nature of Sundowns' win, the Brazilian's headed to social media to celebrate the win. Briefly News takes a look at some of the colourful reactions to the result below.

@DavidTshwane3 wrote:

"We don't have time for cheaters. The stupid ref will remain with a guilty conscience while we move on. The mighty Sundowns is unstoppable. In Downs, we believe."

@jb_rsa said:

"I blame Sundowns and them buying all the star players."

@Matimba_AK added:

"Stellies last week & Royal AM this week have shown how you play Sundowns. Don't sit off them with the low block. Press them high & force them to play long."

Andile Mpisane proudly flaunts new R3 million Mercedes-Maybach

In news elsewhere, Briefly News recently reported that Royal AM chairman Andile Mpisane was once again at it with the latest addition to his growing fleet of luxury whips.

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The 20-year-old son of businesswoman and socialite Shauwn 'MaMkhize' Mkhize, along with whom he owns Royal AM, has been anything but shy to flaunt his excessive wealth.

Making good on keeping up his flamboyant appearances, Mpisane has recruited the sort of luxury vehicle that can only be described as the stuff of dreams – a R3 million 2021 Mercedes-Maybach GLS 600 4Matic – for which he has undoubtedly reserved a special place in his exotic garage.

The Citizen reported that the musician, who's likely working on expanding his catalogue, took to Instagram to mesmerise his followers with the flashy new set of wheels.

The caption read:

“Never sacrifice three things in life, family, love and yourself.”