Match Report: Cape Town City 0-2 Mamelodi Sundowns, Dstv Premiership

Having been frustrated by the Citizens’ tight and solid defence in the first half, Masandawana up the tempo after the restart and they scored twice through Aubrey Modiba and Themba Zwane in an encounter which was played at the 2010 Fifa World Cup venue, DHL Stadium.

Masandawana’s starting line-up raised a few eyebrows as club captain Denis Onyango, and reigning PSL Midfielder of the Season Andile Jali were named among the substitutes. New signing Ronwen Williams walked straight into the starting line-up, while Teboho Mokoena was deployed in a deeper role in midfield.

On the other hand, City’s signing Marc van Heerden was handed a starting berth in the absence of the injured Terrence Mashego who underwent surgery at the end of last season. Upfront, 18-year-old Luke Daniels led the attack on his PSL debut while reported Sundowns target Thabo Nodada captained the Mother City side.

It was a cagey start to the game as both teams looked to find their feet in the first 15 minutes of the game. Sundowns were able to take control of the match as the game progressed, but they found it difficult to penetrate the City defence with no-nonsense centre back Keanu Cupido marshalling the backline.

However, the Citizens looked dangerous when they attacked through the right-hand side – targeting Modiba. Thabo Nodada and Daniels should have scored from close range after connecting with crosses which were delivered from the right by Khanyisa Mayo. However, Nodada and Daniels failed to keep their attempts on target with only Williams to beat.

Sundowns had a chance to break the deadlock just before the half-time break as Domingo burst into the hosts’ box, but the former Vitoria Guimaraes playmaker failed to score – firing over the crossbar. The score was 0-0 at the interval.

Sundowns came out brimming with confidence after their half-time team talk with co-coaches Manqoba Mngqithi and Rhulani Mokwena. The influential Domingo was fouled near the hosts’ box and Modiba, who had been given a hard time by Mayo defensively, scored with a sublime strike from the resultant freekick to make it 1-0 to Sundowns in the 61st minute.

The goal rattled the Citizens’ defence which looked shaky with Mokoena dominating the midfield battle. City were soon 2-0 down and this time it was Zwane who found the back of the net. Domingo played a beautiful through pass for Zwane who fired past onrushing Marques to double Masandawna’s lead three minutes after the hour-mark.

Coach Eric Tinkler’s substitutes Mogamat May and Kajally Drammeh looked lively in the closing stages of the game. However, Williams was determined to keep a clean sheet on his debut for the visitors as the Bafana Bafana captain denied the City duo with some fine saves to ensure that the game ended in a 2-0 win in favour of Sundowns.

The win saw Masandawana start their defence of the league title with a well deserved victory and they will now take on TS Galaxy on Wednesday, while City, who were left to rue their first half chances, are set to square off with Swallows on Tuesday.