Durban — Mamelodi Sundowns gave Kaizer Chiefs a footballing lesson as they thumped Amakhosi 4-0 at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
It was a disastrous opening 15 minutes for Amakhosi and in particular defender Siyabonga Ngezana who was in the centre of everything that went wrong for the away side.
Uruguayan Gaston Sirino marked his return to the starting 11 with an instinctive goal as he capitalised on amateurish play from Ngezana in the sixth minute.
The defender played an under-hit pass to Bruce Bvuma but Sirino was quickest to pounce and fired past the helpless Chiefs goalkeeper.
Things went from bad to worse for Chiefs in the 15th minute. Peter Shalulile burst through and Ngezana dragged the Namibian international and the referee pointed to the penalty spot.
Shalulile dusted himself off and sent Bvuma the wrong way to open his season’s account and put his side two up.
‘Sha Sha’ all but sealed the game when he popped up in the Chiefs penalty area for his second of the game and third for Sundowns in the 53rd minute.
As Chiefs poured numbers forward, they left space at the back, leaving room for Themba Zwane to turn in the box and find Shalulile who placed his effort past Bvuma.
Ethiopian international Abubeker Nasir announced his arrival to the DStv Premiership when he came off the bench to score the fourth goal for the champions.
The diminutive attacker raced past Njabulo Ngcobo, who replaced Ngezana in the second half, before dropping a shoulder and drilling his shot into the bottom corner.
Sundowns headed into this encounter looking to bounce back following a shock defeat at home to TS Galaxy last time out.
The Brazilians co-coach Rulani Mokwena revealed his disappointment at a number of individuals’ performance in their last game and rang the changes against Chiefs.
Captain Andile Jali and Sirino got back into the starting side with Haashim Domingo and Thabiso Kutumela making way.
Visitors Chiefs were dealt a huge blow themselves as they began the match without the explosive Ashley du Preez and George Matlou with Njabulo Blom and Cole Alexander stepping up to fill their spots.
Much of Chiefs’ play comprised of uncompleted and sloppy passes while the midfield struggled to contain the influence of Jali who dictated play from back to front, laying a foundation for the likes of Zwane and Neo Maema to shine.
Chiefs’ frustration was compounded in the 57th minute when Khama Billiat’s penalty was saved by Ronwen Williams after Kgaogelo Sekgota was brought down in the box.
Sundowns will look to take their impressive showing to Limpopo when they visit Sekhukhune United next, while Chiefs will travel to Durban for a tricky test against Richards Bay.
IOL Sport