Pirates lead Sundowns as tight title race looms
South Africa coach Hugo Broos predicted before the South African Premiership kicked off that the days of Mamelodi Sundowns cruising to the title by wide margins were numbered.
The 72-year-old Belgian forecast a much tighter race and named Orlando Pirates and Stellenbosch as clubs "who could fight with Sundowns for the championship".
When matchday six in the richest African domestic league concluded on Thursday Pirates were on top, three points ahead of Sundowns, and Stellenbosch occupied fourth position.
Runners-up in the past two seasons, Pirates stayed on top thanks to a 2-0 win at TS Galaxy through goals from Thalente Mbatha and Relebohile Mofokeng.
Galaxy may have slumped to the bottom of the table after the loss, but four of their five Premiership matches have been on the road, and they seldom falter at home in Mbombela.
Chasing an eighth consecutive league title, Sundowns recovered from a surprise loss at Polokwane City last weekend by waltzing to a 3-0 victory over Cape Town City in Pretoria.
Particularly pleasing for the reigning champions was the return to form of Namibia captain Peter Shalulile, who netted twice.
Stellenbosch, based in a western Cape rugby hotbed, needed 76 minutes to break the stubborn resistance of lowly Marumo Gallants with a Thabo Moloisane header delivering a 1-0 win.
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