Sundowns brush Arrows aside to cruise into final

Mamelodi Sundowns booked a place in the MTN8 final after a dominant 3-0 win over Golden Arrows in the second leg of their semifinal  at Lucas Moripe Stadium on Tuesday night.

Sundowns advanced to the final with the aggregate score of 4-1 after this win that was secured through first half goals by on-form striker Peter Shalulile and defender Divine Lunga.

With this win, their fifth in all competitions so far this season, the Brazilians will play the winner of the other semifinal  between Swallows and Cape Town City which is to be played at Dobsonville Stadium in Soweto on Wednesday.

For all their recent domestic dominance, Sundowns have never lifted the MTN8 trophy in its current guise. Their last win was when they beat Orlando Pirates 1-0 in 2007 when the competition was known as the SAA Supa8.

It is also worth noting that after this result, Sundowns have only conceded three goals after eight matches in all competitions this season while they have scored 15.

Sundowns opened the scoring as early as the fourth minute when Arrows goalkeeper Sifiso Mlungwana spilled a snap shot by impressive Kutumela into the path of Namibian international Shalulile who made no mistake.

In what was Shalulile’s second goal of the tournament, Sundowns cut through the Arrows midfield with a delightful move that also involved Themba Zwane, Andile Jali and Haashim Domingo.

Arrows did not take Sundowns’ opening goal lying down as they responded with an immediate counter attack and it resulted with attacker Velemseni Ndwandwe forcing a diving save from Reyaad Pieterse.

Lunga, who made  his first start for the Brazilians after joining  them in the off-season, did not celebrate his goal in respect to Arrows who recruited him from Chicken Inn of Zimbabwe in 2018.

It could have been worse for Arrows just before the break when Kutumela, who contributed two assists in the opening half, watched in disbelief when his header from Domingo’s cross hit the upright.

There were no goals in the second half but Arrows notably improved their attacking tempo with the likes of Michael Gumede, Ndwandwe, Pule Mmodi and Nduduzo Sibiya creating most of their chances.

One of the most notable moments of the second half came in the closing stages when Pieterse and Arrows captain  Nkosinathi Sibiya were stretched off the field after a nasty clash of heads.

The last act of the night was a stunning long range goal by substitute attacker Neo Maema as the Brazilians stormed into the final in sensational style.