Sundowns are 'so good, winning is easy' - coach

Thapelo Morena put the champions ahead after 25 seconds - the fastest goal in the league since January 2020 - and Themba Zwane added a second on 52 minutes in Polokwane. "We have the toughest schedule of any club in the country, but we are so good winning is easy," said the 36-year-old coach. "My smile says it all - we were very, very good tonight. I am so proud of these players. It is a pleasure and an honour to coach them."

Mokwena took over last October and has also guided the Pretoria outfit to the CAF Champions League semi-finals, where they face title-holders Wydad Casablanca. The first leg is in the intimidating cauldron of the Stade Mohammed V in the Moroccan commercial capital on May 13 with the return match in Pretoria seven days later. Sundowns sealed a sixth straight Premiership title on April 1 with a record seven matches to spare, and they are hoping to match or beat other milestones.

They host bottom club Maritzburg United on May 16 in their final domestic fixture and a victory would equal their record of 22 victories in a 30-match season. Winning would also take them to 72 points - one point more than the benchmark they set in their 2015-2016 campaign. Defeat for outplayed Marumo kept them third last, ahead of Chippa United on goal difference and three points above Maritzburg, having played one match more than the fellow strugglers.

The club finishing last are relegated and the side coming second last go into play-offs with two second division sides with one Premiership place up for grabs. Before their final Premiership outing, Marumo switch attention to the CAF Confederation Cup, with the first leg of a semi-final against Young Africans of Tanzania in Dar es Salaam on May 10. The second-tier Confederation Cup is the African equivalent of the UEFA Europa League and has never been won by a South African club.

 

May 6, 2023