Peter Shalulile bagged a brace as Mamelodi Sundowns moved one step closer to clinching the DStv Premiership title following their 3-0 victory over TS Galaxy at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Monday evening.

In Pretoria, the Namibian skipper opened the score after 26 and 35 minutes, and the substitute Thembinkosi Lorch sealed the victory in minute 64.

Shalulile, who finished as the joint top Premiership scorer the previous season, has been having trouble scoring lately, so it was nice to see him get back to his previous level.

With the win, Sundowns’ record-breaking 47 games without a loss in the league since their September 2022 loss to SuperSport United, their neighbours in Pretoria, has been stretched over two seasons.

If they defeat Kaizer Chiefs, who are now in seventh place, in Johannesburg on Thursday, they will be declared the winners of the wealthiest national league in Africa.

The fifth-place Galaxy had a chance to even the score in extra time, but Ronwen Williams stopped a penalty kick from Bernard Parker, who was making his comeback after breaking his leg in October.

On the 85th minute, Orebotse Mongae, a replacement, was sent off for a tackle from behind on Bongani Zungu, who withdrew wounded, capping a terrible night for the visiting squad.

After Sundowns had made five replacements and Zungu was unable to continue, the last few minutes of the game switched to a 10-a-side encounter at Loftus Versfeld, the stadium that Sundowns shares with the Bulls rugby team.

Sundowns showed their depth when they outperformed Galaxy despite making six changes from the team that lost to Esperance of Tunisia in a CAF Champions League semifinal last Friday.

Photo by Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix