Mokoena's Late Goal Secures Win for Sundowns Against Arrows
Mamelodi Sundowns had to dig deep and then dig even deeper at King Zwelithini Stadium, edging Golden Arrows 2-1 in a Betway Premiership clash that refused to slow down.
For long spells it felt like two points were slipping away. Then Teboho Mokoena stepped up.
With two minutes left on the clock and the game stretched, Mokoena collected the ball on the edge of the area and thumped it home, a ruthless finish that turned a draining night into a vital victory and preserved Sundowns’ early grip on top spot.
New signing strikes, Arrows hit back
Siyanda Ndlovu, Sundowns’ new signing, had opened his account in the first half, putting the Brazilians in front and briefly suggesting a more comfortable evening for the Tshwane side.
Arrows refused to play along.
Junior Dion dragged the hosts level in the second half, capitalising on Sundowns’ lapse and igniting a frantic final phase in which both sides went for the throat rather than settling for a point.
The pressure finally told in Sundowns’ favour when Mokoena arrived with the decisive blow, sealing a fourth straight win in all competitions and moving the champions to 16 points from six matches — three clear of Orlando Pirates, who still have a game in hand.
Cardoso hails character, warns on game management
Miguel Cardoso walked away satisfied with the result and the response, if not with every decision his players made in the closing stages.
“I’m obviously happy with the character we’ve shown because sometimes if you concede a goal like that, you don’t have the mental capacity to be resilient and to fight for something,” the Sundowns coach said after the match.
“So it means that the message, the character and attitude we’re trying to build is strong. No one can destroy the attitude and that is something that we have to state all the time.
“It will not obviously happen every time that we score in the last minute but if we believe, it will happen more frequently and the team showed belief.”
Belief they have. Control is what he wants next.
Cardoso bristled at how his side handled the final minutes after Mokoena’s strike, accusing them of chasing another goal instead of killing the game with the ball.
“What I didn’t like is that after we scored the two one we still went to go attack like it was the last minute of the match and we were losing by two goals,” he said.
“But we needed to have the maturity at that point to manage the game and keep the ball in the right places to finish the game in the few minutes that were remaining. There’s obviously some learning to do from this match so that we can become stronger in the future.”
Attention turns to Loftus
There is barely time to breathe. Sundowns are back in action on Wednesday at Loftus Versfeld against Siwelele FC, carrying a four-match winning streak and the weight of early-season expectation.
Top of the table, still learning, still winning. The question now is whether Cardoso’s demand for maturity will turn tight, frantic finishes into the kind of controlled dominance that defines champions over a long campaign.
