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Johannesburg - If anyone has the poise and panache to stand in the way of SuperSport United's march towards a third successive Premier League title, it must surely be Mamelodi Sundowns and their veritable reservoir of talented players.
This much was evident at Durban's glistening new World Cup Stadium on Sunday afternoon as the team known as The Brazilians beat an outclassed AmaZulu 3-0 and moved into third position in the log table.
The victory was orchestrated on the foundation of a pulsating two-minute burst midway through the second half in which Sundowns scored twice and took a blanket-like control of the proceedings.
The breakthrough came via top PSL goalscorer Katlego Mphela with the first of his two goals in the 71st minute when he guided a cross from the right flank into the net with a true predator's instinct, while Lebohang Mokoena effectively sealed AmaZulu's fate a mere 120 seconds later with a goal of masterly precision and quality.
Mphela recorded his second goal of the game from the penalty spot in the closing seconds to take his tally to 15, with a bold man indeed betting on the lithe, hungry Bafana striker not retaining the top PSL scoring position at the end of the season.
Yet for all the ultimate dominance of The Brazilians, it would be unwise to overlook the fact that the breakthrough opening goal was as much the product of a Kakonje Kalilio goalkeeping error as anything else.
And although Sundowns jumped three places in the log table, it would be folly to underscore a situation whereby pacesetters SuperSport retain an imposing nine-point lead in the log table - albeit the partially redeeming situation whereby The Brazilians have a game in hand to reduce this deficit.
In Sundowns favour, however, is their depth in talent, with some players of no small amount of ability sitting on the bench in the Durban drizzle throughout the game and such vaunted players as the previously injured Surprise Moriri and Benedict Vilakazi only coming on as substitutes late into the second period.
And now, from Sundowns' point of view, will be the manner in which coach Hristo Stoichkov juggles his maze of talent and makes the right selection decisions - something that was not altogether obvious as AmaZulu clung on for dear life during the opening 60 minutes of play and threatened to make off with a point against their vaunted opponents.
Indeed Sundowns' defence looked shaky at times and indecision in their ranks almost resulted in the 14th-placed AmaZulu producing a shock goal against the run of play which would have precipitated more heat into the game than the overcast, if sultry weather.
This much was evident at Durban's glistening new World Cup Stadium on Sunday afternoon as the team known as The Brazilians beat an outclassed AmaZulu 3-0 and moved into third position in the log table.
The victory was orchestrated on the foundation of a pulsating two-minute burst midway through the second half in which Sundowns scored twice and took a blanket-like control of the proceedings.
The breakthrough came via top PSL goalscorer Katlego Mphela with the first of his two goals in the 71st minute when he guided a cross from the right flank into the net with a true predator's instinct, while Lebohang Mokoena effectively sealed AmaZulu's fate a mere 120 seconds later with a goal of masterly precision and quality.
Mphela recorded his second goal of the game from the penalty spot in the closing seconds to take his tally to 15, with a bold man indeed betting on the lithe, hungry Bafana striker not retaining the top PSL scoring position at the end of the season.
Yet for all the ultimate dominance of The Brazilians, it would be unwise to overlook the fact that the breakthrough opening goal was as much the product of a Kakonje Kalilio goalkeeping error as anything else.
And although Sundowns jumped three places in the log table, it would be folly to underscore a situation whereby pacesetters SuperSport retain an imposing nine-point lead in the log table - albeit the partially redeeming situation whereby The Brazilians have a game in hand to reduce this deficit.
In Sundowns favour, however, is their depth in talent, with some players of no small amount of ability sitting on the bench in the Durban drizzle throughout the game and such vaunted players as the previously injured Surprise Moriri and Benedict Vilakazi only coming on as substitutes late into the second period.
And now, from Sundowns' point of view, will be the manner in which coach Hristo Stoichkov juggles his maze of talent and makes the right selection decisions - something that was not altogether obvious as AmaZulu clung on for dear life during the opening 60 minutes of play and threatened to make off with a point against their vaunted opponents.
Indeed Sundowns' defence looked shaky at times and indecision in their ranks almost resulted in the 14th-placed AmaZulu producing a shock goal against the run of play which would have precipitated more heat into the game than the overcast, if sultry weather.
