Cape Town City’s struggles continued on Saturday night as Betway Premiership leaders Mamelodi Sundowns secured a 2-0 victory at the DHL Stadium.
It was a clash of extremes — top versus bottom — with Cape Town City desperately chasing points to salvage a troubled season. Their struggles have been well documented, and with SuperSport United securing a win earlier in the day, City found themselves two points adrift of Matsatsantsa, Golden Arrows, and Richards Bay. Meanwhile, Miguel Cardoso’s Mamelodi Sundowns are just a few results away from sealing an eighth consecutive league title.
Despite the disparity in form and fortunes, it was a bright start from City under caretaker coach Diogo Peral. They pressed high early on, nearly troubling the visitors in the fourth minute when Jaedin Rhodes whipped in a dangerous cross — but Ronwen Williams was quick off his line to smother the danger.
However, it didn’t take long for the champions to reassert their authority. In the 15th minute, Sundowns sliced through City’s backline, with only some desperate defending preventing Lucas Ribeiro from finding the net. Teboho Mokoena’s follow-up from distance was deflected behind, and from the resulting corner, Darren Keet had to dive full stretch to deny Aubrey Modiba.
Mokoena came close again five minutes later with a curling effort from the edge of the area, while Iqraam Rayners rose well two minutes after that, only to head over the bar.
City looked for a breakthrough of their own in the 28th minute with a promising set-piece, but Thami Mkhize couldn’t make clean contact and Williams collected comfortably.
Then came the breakthrough — and it was Sundowns who struck. In the 34th minute, Rayners timed his run perfectly to beat the offside trap before sliding a composed pass into the path of Tashreeq Matthews, who made no mistake in opening the scoring.
Three minutes later, Thapelo Morena nearly doubled the lead with a fierce drive, but Keet was equal to it, parrying the shot away.
City came out with renewed intent after the break, and Thabo Nodada fired over just two minutes into the second half. But Sundowns continued to look the more dangerous side. In the 54th minute, a defensive lapse from Aprocious Petrus gifted the visitors an opening, and Ribeiro went down in the box — appealing for a penalty that wasn’t given. Moments later, Arthur Sales’ header drifted just wide, and Rayners fired over from close range soon after.
A foul by Petrus just outside the area handed Sundowns a promising free-kick in the 65th minute, but Teboho Mokoena’s effort slammed into the wall, allowing City to clear their lines and momentarily relieve the pressure.
Five minutes later, Darren Keet was called into action again, saving well from Marcelo Allende’s low strike on the left. Then, in the 72nd minute, Cape Town City were saved by the woodwork as Tashreeq Matthews nearly doubled his tally with a powerful effort that rattled the frame.
The result was sealed in the 78th minute when Sales threaded a perfectly weighted pass through to Rayners, and the former Stellenbosch striker finished with clinical precision.
At the final whistle, it was another step toward the title for Sundowns, while City were left staring down the barrel — with just two difficult fixtures remaining to avoid the dreaded relegation playoffs.