Teboho Mokoena scored his first goal for Mamelodi Sundowns to help them claim a 2-0 victory over Chippa United in the DStv Premiership at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Monday evening.

The Tshwane giants made only two changes to their side that defeated Richards Bay in the Nedbank Cup over this past weekend as Thapelo Morena and Aubrey Modiba were named in the starting lineup.

The Brazilians got off to a bright start and dominated proceedings in the opening exchanges as they looked to take an early lead.

But the first goalkeeper to be tested after six minutes was Kennedy Mweene, the Sundowns keeper calmly making the save from a Riaan Hanamub free kick on the right before Eva Nga Bienvenu fired his effort wide of goal after receiving a delightful cross from Thabiso Lebitso.

Sundowns’ first real chance came in the 16th minute when Themba Zwane laid the ball off for Peter Shalulile, who blazed his effort wide of target.

The Chilli Boys suffered a major blow in the 24th minute being reduced to 10 men, with Mkhize Siphesihle being shown his marching orders after a crunching tackle on Thabiso Kutumela.

Aubrey Modiba had a chance to hand Sundowns the lead in the 33rd minute but saw his volley blocked before it deflected out for a corner, before Shalulile had his effort saved by the Chippa keeper after latching on to a ball from Thapelo Morena.

Sundowns eventually took the lead in the 44th minute when Andile Jali fired home a loose ball into the back of the net after it deflected off Sandile Mthethwa to find the bottom corner as the game went into half time.

The home side had the first real chance of the second half after Morena beat three players before setting up Kutumela, who saw his strike blocked out for a corner.

Chippa’s goalkeeper came to his side’s rescue just after the hour mark when he made a great save to keep out De Reuck’s header, which was heading for the back of the net.

Sundowns brought on fresh legs in the 68th minute as Jali, Kutumela and Surprise Ralani were taken off and replaced by Gaston Sirino, Teboho Mokoena and Gift Motupa, respectively.

The home side then had three opportunities to double their lead in the 73rd minute after Sirino’s long-range effort was saved by the Chippa keeper before Shalulile failed to find the back of the net with two chances on the rebound.

Zwane had a chance to put the game to bed in the 80th minute after combining well with Modiba, but the Sundowns attacker saw his effort blocked before it could reach the back of the net.

Sundowns eventually doubled their lead in the 87th minute when Mokoena unleashed a thunderous strike to bag his first goal for Sundowns.