Mamelodi Sundowns stretched their unbeaten run in the DStv Premiership to 21 games following their narrow 1-0 victory over Richards Bay at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Tuesday evening.

Thapelo Morena pounced on a deflection and slammed the ball past Ugandan custodian Salim Magoola from close range in the 25th minute.

Morena was one of only four starters who stayed from the team that beat Chabab Belouizdad 4-1 in the first leg of the CAF Champions League quarter-final last Saturday in Algeria.

“I am not a big fan of rotation,” said Rhulani Mokwena, the 36-year-old coach of Sundowns who never played top-class football.

“Making a lot of changes means you can lose cohesion and rhythm. However, after arriving home from Algeria only yesterday after a 20-hour journey, I had no option.

“This was a very, very tough match and we our grateful to goalkeeper Ronwen (Williams), who made many brilliant saves. He has to be a strong candidate for the Premiership player of the season.”

Williams, who also played in Algeria, was much busier than Magoola. He stopped many of the attacks from Richards Bay, led by the man of the match, Sanele Barns.

Meanwhile, Richards Bay coach Ronnie Gabriel bemoaned his sides missed chances: “It is the story of our season. We gave a top-notch display only to fail in the final third of the pitch.

“We lost but I believe our supporters will be proud of a fantastic performance. Every player fought for the badge.”

Since last September, when they lost to SuperSport United in a Pretoria derby, Sundowns have won 17 league games and drawn four. They were crowned champions with seven games to spare.

But Bay are having trouble after being second for a while. The loss to Sundowns made it 11 Premiership games since they last won, and they are now 10th in the table.

Photo by Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix