Bay were punished for being wasteful in front of goal by a more clinical Sundowns that were perhaps not at their best.
Mamelodi Sundowns closed off 2024 in style with a 2-0 win over embattled Richards Bay in a Betway Premiership match at King Zwelithini Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Arthur Sales and Lucas Ribeiro were on the scoresheet as the reigning champions grabbed all three points in KwaZulu-Natal in their last match of the year.
The result means that the Brazilians will end the year on top of the Premiership standings, even if second-placed Orlando Pirates secure a win over Magesi FC on Sunday. Bay were punished for being wasteful in front of goal by a more clinical Sundowns that were perhaps not at their best.
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Sundowns might have led at the break, but the Natal Rich Boyz didn’t disgrace themselves. They held their own and had two good chances to at least grab an equaliser before half time. They were denied by Dennis Onyango, who had a brilliant first half while deputising in goal for the suspended Ronwen Williams.
Sales opened the scoring in the 20th minute with a lovely little dink over Bay goalkeeper Salim Magoola after Ribeiro put him through on goal with a defence-splitting pass. At the other end of the pitch, Onyango dived low to save Lwandile Mabuya’s first-time shot at his near post.
The home team’s best chance of the opening half fell to Yanela Mbuthuma, but his header missed the target by inches with Onyango rooted to his goal line. In the end, the Tshwane giants did enough to head into the break with a narrow lead.
Mbuthuma was unlucky not to level matters six minutes after the restart. This time, the 22-year-old’s header came off the crossbar after a good cross from the right by Mabuya. Bay were made to rue their missed chances by Ribeiro, who extended Masandawana’s lead in the 65th minute with a well-taken curled effort from inside the box.
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The home team hit the woodwork twice in the match but Downs walked away with maximum points thanks to the South American pair of Sales and Ribeiro. Sundowns move to 30 points after 11 league matches and hold a six-point lead over Pirates, who can cut it to three points with a win over Magesi.
