Goals from Arthur Sales and debutant Brayan León ensured a winning start to the new year for the reigning champions.
Mamelodi Sundowns returned to the summit of the Betway Premiership table with a comfortable 2–0 victory over ORBIT College at Loftus Versfeld on Monday night, as goals from Arthur Sales and debutant Brayan León ensured a winning start to the new year for the reigning champions.
After 14 matches, Masandawana climbed back to the top of the standings on 29 points, one ahead of Orlando Pirates. However, the Buccaneers hold two games in hand and will only resume their league campaign on Saturday with a trip to Sekhukhune United at the New Peter Mokaba Stadium, setting the stage for an intriguing title race.
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Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso rang the changes following the Africa Cup of Nations break, with Ronwen Williams the only returning AFCON participant to start. Veteran goalkeeper Denis Onyango was named among the substitutes, while Teboho Mokoena missed out through suspension. Aubrey Modiba, Khuliso Mudau, Bathusi Aubaas and Divine Lunga were also absent from the matchday squad.
Key figures Marcelo Allende, Nuno Santos and Themba Zwane began the contest on the bench, along with new Colombian forward León. Despite the reshuffle, Sundowns started brightly and Jayden Adams almost marked his rare start with an early goal, rattling the upright in the fifth minute after latching on to a well-weighted ball over the ORBIT College defence.
The match was interrupted midway through the first half due to a floodlight failure, forcing a 10-minute stoppage as both teams took instructions from their technical staff. Sundowns wasted little time after the restart and broke the deadlock just two minutes later. Sales showed sharp anticipation to close down ORBIT goalkeeper Cyril Chibwe, forcing an error before reacting the quickest to execute an acrobatic overhead kick from a kind rebound inside the box.
Cardoso made a decisive change at the interval, introducing León for Lebo Mothiba, who struggled to make an impact. The substitution paid dividends as the contest settled into a measured tempo after the mid-season break.
León, however, injected energy into the Sundowns attack and delighted the home crowd in the 65th minute by rising highest to head home a pinpoint cross from Thato Sibiya, sealing the points on his debut following his arrival from Independiente Medellín.
ORBIT College found it difficult to trouble the Sundowns defence, with Williams largely untested throughout the evening. The Premiership newcomers remain 13th on the log with 13 points, two clear of the relegation zone, but head coach Pogiso Makhoye will be looking for improvement to avoid being drawn into a relegation scrap.
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Sundowns will now shift their attention to continental matters as they prepare to host Sudanese giants Al-Hilal in a CAF Champions League encounter on Friday.