Rayners late brace seals Sundowns win over Sekhukhune United

Iqraam Rayners came off the bench to score a brace after Bradley Grobler had cancelled out Marcelo Allende’s first-half opener.

Mamelodi Sundowns survived a scare to record another hard-fought 3-1 win over Sekhukhune United in a Betway Premiership match at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Sunday, moving level on 41 points with Orlando Pirates.

Iqraam Rayners came off the bench to score a brace after Bradley Grobler had cancelled out Marcelo Allende’s first-half opener. The former Stellenbosch FC striker netted two late goals to settle what was an entertaining game in Tshwane.

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Before Sundowns opened the scoring, the game was evenly poised, with the visitors creating a few promising opportunities on the counter-attack.

The hosts were patient in possession, circulating the ball well and probing for openings against a United side content to sit deep and pounce on the break.

Sekhukhune were not overawed by the occasion and gave as good as they got, and it always seemed likely that a moment of quality would be required to break the deadlock.

Allende continued his rich vein of form by scoring in a second successive match as the Brazilians secured maximum points. Coming into the game, Allende had netted a late winner against AmaZulu FC in midweek from a similar position.

Sekhukhune should have been alert to his prowess from range, but they allowed him space and time on the edge of the area. That proved costly as the diminutive midfielder curled the ball into the top corner to hand Sundowns the lead after 31 minutes.

Sundowns, however, failed to put the game beyond reach and were punished in the 70th minute when Grobler headed home Vuyo Letlapa’s cross from the left. The equaliser set up a tense finale, with the visitors sensing an opportunity to snatch a valuable point.

Just as the match appeared to be drifting towards a draw, Rayners popped up with the decisive touch, poking home from a cross delivered by debutant Monnapule Saleng to restore Sundowns’ advantage late on.

Rayners bagged his brace on the stroke of full-time with a wonderful finish from outside the box to put the game to bed. The hosts were aware they had little margin for error after Pirates hammered Kaizer Chiefs on Saturday to leapfrog them at the summit of the league standings. The Buccaneers remain top on goal difference with 12 matches left to play, intensifying the pressure in an increasingly competitive title race.

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Sundowns have now completed a league double over Babina Noko, having secured a 2-0 victory in the reverse fixture earlier in the season. The Tshwane giants also extended their dominance over Sekhukhune, stretching their unbeaten run against the Limpopo outfit to 10 league meetings, comprising nine wins and one draw.