Sports / Soccer
Malajila's goal propels Sundowns to second spot
24 Feb 2015 at 16:45hrs | Views
Mamelodi Sundowns made things more difficult for the struggling AmaZulu on Tuesday night at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban as they beat them 1-0 in their Absa Premiership clash..
A goal by Cuthbert Malajila was enough to place Mamelodi Sundowns in second spot and add to Usuthu's successive five game defeat under coach Steve Barker.
Hosts AmaZulu controlled the ball in the first five minutes of the match.
Debutant and new AmaZulu signing Thabiso Dlamini made sure that he used this opportunity to his advantage as he was the first to test the Sundowns keeper.
In the 15th minute John Arwuah also came close to opening the scoring for AmaZulu, but his shot went wide.
After this Sundowns came back into the match and started attacking. In the 25th minute a shot by Khama Billiat went wide of the right-hand post as Sundowns searched for the opener.
The match went into the halftime break goalless.
In the second half AmaZulu continued on the attack but could not find the back of the net. Just less than ten minutes after the break Zimbabwean marksman Malajila scored with a composed shot for Sundowns, taking his side to a 1-0 lead in the 53rd minute.
After this goal Sundowns got fired up as Zungu came close to doubling the score but Mathibe pulled off a great double save.
Despite all this AmaZulu never gave up and they kept on fighting and it was Bongi Ntuli and substitute Ooko who tried hard to find the back of the net but to no success.
The last chance for AmaZulu came in additional time when Ntuli's header went wide from a set piece that was taken by Marc Van Heerden.
This saw Sundowns walking away with the full three points and slowly catching up with Kaizer Chiefs as they move to second spot on the Absa Premiership log.
Sundowns (0) 1 ( Malajila 54')
AmaZulu 0
Teams:
AmaZulu: Aubrey Mathibe, Robyn Johannes, Sedat Ouro-akoriko, Roscoe Pietersen, Marc Van Heerden, Sfiso Hlanti, John Arwuah ( Ooko 74') , Goodman Dlamini, Thabiso Dlamini, Bongi Ntuli, Bongani Ndulula ( A Dlamini 63')
Sundowns : Dennis Onyango, Ramahlwe Mphahlele, Siyanda Zwane, Alje Schut, Asavela Mbekile ( Laffor 53'), Kudakwashe Mahachi ( Nthethe 76'), Bongani Zungu, Mzikayise Mashaba, Khama Billiat, Teko Modise, Cuthbert Malajila
A goal by Cuthbert Malajila was enough to place Mamelodi Sundowns in second spot and add to Usuthu's successive five game defeat under coach Steve Barker.
Hosts AmaZulu controlled the ball in the first five minutes of the match.
Debutant and new AmaZulu signing Thabiso Dlamini made sure that he used this opportunity to his advantage as he was the first to test the Sundowns keeper.
In the 15th minute John Arwuah also came close to opening the scoring for AmaZulu, but his shot went wide.
After this Sundowns came back into the match and started attacking. In the 25th minute a shot by Khama Billiat went wide of the right-hand post as Sundowns searched for the opener.
The match went into the halftime break goalless.
In the second half AmaZulu continued on the attack but could not find the back of the net. Just less than ten minutes after the break Zimbabwean marksman Malajila scored with a composed shot for Sundowns, taking his side to a 1-0 lead in the 53rd minute.
After this goal Sundowns got fired up as Zungu came close to doubling the score but Mathibe pulled off a great double save.
Despite all this AmaZulu never gave up and they kept on fighting and it was Bongi Ntuli and substitute Ooko who tried hard to find the back of the net but to no success.
The last chance for AmaZulu came in additional time when Ntuli's header went wide from a set piece that was taken by Marc Van Heerden.
This saw Sundowns walking away with the full three points and slowly catching up with Kaizer Chiefs as they move to second spot on the Absa Premiership log.
Sundowns (0) 1 ( Malajila 54')
AmaZulu 0
Teams:
AmaZulu: Aubrey Mathibe, Robyn Johannes, Sedat Ouro-akoriko, Roscoe Pietersen, Marc Van Heerden, Sfiso Hlanti, John Arwuah ( Ooko 74') , Goodman Dlamini, Thabiso Dlamini, Bongi Ntuli, Bongani Ndulula ( A Dlamini 63')
Sundowns : Dennis Onyango, Ramahlwe Mphahlele, Siyanda Zwane, Alje Schut, Asavela Mbekile ( Laffor 53'), Kudakwashe Mahachi ( Nthethe 76'), Bongani Zungu, Mzikayise Mashaba, Khama Billiat, Teko Modise, Cuthbert Malajila
Source - supersport
