Tuesday in Pretoria, Mamelodi Sundowns, the leaders of the South African Premiership, defeated fourth-place Sekhukhune United 2-1 despite fielding 11 reserves.
The hosts had a brilliant start, scoring twice in seven minutes through Thapelo Morena and Tashreeq Matthews. For the losing team, Nigerian Chibuike Ohizu scored a penalty kick in the 50th minute.
With the win, Sundowns have now gone 46 games without a loss in the league over the course of two seasons. They now just need six points from eight games to win the title for a record-tying seventh time in a row.
All eleven of Sundowns’ players who started last Saturday’s first leg of their CAF Champions League semi-final against Esperance of Tunisia, a 1-0 away loss, were rested.
The 38-year-old former goalie Denis Onyango of Uganda will be leading a different Sundowns squad in the rematch, which takes place on Friday. Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena made this decision.
Thirty minutes after colliding with Sekhukhune captain Linda Mntambo, Onyango was knocked to his head and had to be taken off the pitch on a stretcher with a severe cut that looked to be a concussion.
Kenyan defender Brian Onyango, another starter from East Africa for Sundowns, had a terrible third game of the year after fouling Vusimuzi Mncube, which resulted in a penalty for Sekhukhune.
Just before the hour mark, Onyango was hauled off the field due to persistent jeers from the crowd, which infuriated Mokwena.
“Every player makes mistakes, including Brian. Despite spending the majority of the season as an unutilized substitute, he was a little rusty on the rings, the coach remarked.
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