They may be playing catch-up in the Hollywoodbets Super League following a short break when they were involved in the CAF|COSAFA Women’s Champions League zonal qualifiers, but Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies are showing every intention of retaining their domestic league title.
Banyana ba Style defeated hosts City Lads Ladies 3-0 at the Westbourne Oval Stadium in the Eastern Cape, with goals from Lesotho international Boitumelo Rabale, Chantelle Esau and Miche Minnies.
The visitors took the lead just under a minute after the first whistle, as Rabale scored her 12thof the season.
The Brazilians could have taken a 2-0 lead at the break but failed to slot in the second from the penalty spot.
They then had to see out the rest of the match with a player short following a red card shown to reliable Banyana Banyana defender Bambanani Mbane after she was adjudged to have used her elbow against an opponent while contesting for a ball mid-air.
But that did not stop the visitors from maintain their dominance as Esau grabbed her fourth goal in four matches, extending the Brazilians’ lead to 2-0 in the second half.
Substitute Minnies completed the rout when she netted the third.
“I am very happy with the way we fought gallantly because the match was not easy by any means. The early red card destabilized our rhythm, but we found a way to weather the storms. Playing with 10 players for a long time pushed us to the limit and we had to dig deep for the result,” said Sundowns Ladies captain Zanele Nhlapho on her club’s website.
“Everyone fought hard for this result, and we are proud to claim maximum points after such a difficult battle. We also give credit to the technical team for managing the squad due to the fatigue from playing twice every week. Getting three goals and three points and keeping a clean sheet makes us happy and it’s time to plan for the next.”
The victory was enough to give the Brazilians 42 points – one more than second-placed JVW who also registered an easy 3-0 win over Durban Ladies at the Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium.
Following a goalless first half, Robyn Moodaly opened her side’s account in the 73rd minute after good interplay with Gabby Salgado, who recently returned from a long injury lay-off.
Three minutes later Salgado extended the Blue Diamond’s lead from the penalty spot after Alochia Lelaka was brought down, before Cimone Sauls made it 3-0 in the 83rd minute.
Sundowns Ladies have now won 14 matches in 15 outings this season.
They have lost only once, scoring 76 goals in the process – 24 more than JVW.
Elsewhere, third-placed Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) saw their 11 match unbeaten run come to an end when they suffered a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Bloemfontein Celtic Ladies/Royal AM Ladies.
After 19 outings, TUT, who previously led the log standings, are now three points behind Sundowns Ladies with their second loss of the season.
Fellow students, the University of the Western Cape (UWC) also dropped valuable points when they were held to a 2-all draw but a determined Thunderbirds Ladies in Cape Town.
The struggling Tsunami Queens travelled to Soweto for a date with the University of Johannesburg (UJ), but returned home empty-handed after going down 1-0.
While the students are sitting pretty in sixth position, the Free State side is languishing second from bottom and yet to hit double digits in the points column after 18 matches.
This was their 14th loss.
Also growing through a rough time is bottom-of-the-table Golden Ladies, who haven’t won a game after playing 19 matches.
The North West side lost 3-1 to First Touch in Polokwane – their 16th defeat of the season.
Golden Ladies have only managed to collect three points thanks to three draws, making surviving relegation an even bigger challenge.
The visiting Richmond United were the biggest winners of the weekend when they walloped newcomers Vasco da Gama 4-0 away in Cape Town.
The result leaves the home side in 14th place while United are in 9th position.
A five-goal thriller between hosts Coal City Wizards and Ma-Indies at the Puma Stadium in Witbank closed off an exciting week 19 of action which saw a total of 25 goals scored across eight matches.
Maite Magoro, Shamiso Mutasa and Vutivu Sithole scored for the visitors while Lizza Mokoena and Nelisiwe Mchunu replied for the hosts as they lost 2-3.
It was a good day for Mokoena who responded positively to her maiden Banyana Banyana call-up for the upcoming COSAFA Women’s Championship in Gqeberha.
She however did not finish the match after sustaining an injury, which would have worried coach Simphiwe Dludlu as the players had to report for camp on Sunday (28 August 2022.
By Matlhomola Morake
