Mamelodi Sundowns collected three valuable points away from home as they beat Chippa United 1-0 at the Sisa Dukashe Stadium in East London on Saturday night.
Uruguayan striker Gaston Sirino scored the only goal of the game in the ninth minute when he was played into position by midfielder Lebogang Maboe.
The goal was a sense of relief to Sirino, after he had missed the target minutes earlier.
If Sundowns had taken their chances, the match could have been well beyond Chippa’s grasp by halftime.
Andile Jali could have scored for Sundowns in the first half, but the woodwork saw his pile-driving effort rebound away from danger.
To their credit, Chippa showed great character in an attempt to find the equaliser, with Hlompho Kekana often falling back from his traditional midfield role to assist in clearing any danger.
Chippa’s best chance came 15 minutes before the final whistle when Mark Mayambela’s glancing header sailed just wide of Denis Onyango’s goal area.
Sundowns have now established a five-game unbeaten run in the league and move to 14 points from nine games.
However, the current league champions will have to shift their attention to the Telkom Knockout scene, as they will be a part of quarter-final action against Baroka FC next weekend.
For Chippa, the defeat was their third in as many matches, and they will have to look for solutions ahead of their next league match, at home to an out-of-sorts Kaizer Chiefs team on November 10.
Chippa remain on eight points from nine games.
Man of the match: Andile Jali. #Sundowns #DownsLive #DownsChippa #AbsaPrem
— Mamelodi Sundowns FC (@Masandawana) October 27, 2018