Sundowns take major stride toward the title
The weekend’s round of Absa Premiership results saw Mamelodi Sundowns take another major stride toward the title, while bottom-of-the-log Platinum Stars showed real fight to claim an away draw.
The round got underway with the headline result on Friday night at Athlone Stadium, as Mamelodi Sundowns claimed a 1-0 win away to title challengers Cape Town City. Khama Billiat’s brilliantly-executed goal early in the second half saw the Brazilians open up a seven-point lead at the top of the log.
That was reduced to five-points on Saturday night when Orlando Pirates moved into second spot with a 2-1 home win over Maritzburg United, while Free State Stars are just a point further back in third after their great season continued with a 2-0 home win over Baroka FC.
Kaizer Chiefs are fourth after they were held 1-1 by Bidvest Wits in Johannesburg, with Ryan Moon’s opening goal cancelled out by former Amakhosi striker Lehlohonolo Majoro.
AmaZulu continued their fine recent form (they are five unbeaten in the league) by beating Durban rivals Golden Arrows 2-1 to move into the top half of the table, while SuperSport United will hope their 4-2 victory over Bloemfontein Celtic puts their ship back on course after winning just one of their previous 13 matches.
Sunday saw one of the best league matches of the season, as rock-bottom Platinum Stars showed great character to fight back from a goal down no less than three times and claim a 3-3 draw at Chippa United, with loan signing Riyaad Norodien scoring a brace on debut.
Their fellow relegation battlers Ajax Cape Town and Platinum Stars made up no ground, as they played out a 1-1 draw in their concurrent clash in Limpopo.
The Absa Premiership will go on a break while the Nedbank Cup last 32 matches are played through the next week and a half, returning with five fixtures over the weekend of 16-18 February.
Absa Premiership weekend results
Friday 2 February
Cape Town City 0-1 Mamelodi Sundowns
Saturday 3 February
SuperSport United 4-2 Bloemfontein Celtic
Free State Stars 2-0 Baroka FC
Bidvest Wits 1-1 Kaizer Chiefs
Orlando Pirates 2-1 Maritzburg United
AmaZulu 2-1 Golden Arrows
Sunday 4 February
Polokwane City 1-1 Ajax Cape Town
Chippa United 3-3 Platinum Stars