Shalulile nets spectacular goal as Sundowns defeat Royal AM

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Peter Shalulile scored a spectacular goal as champions Mamelodi Sundowns secured a 2-0 victory over Royal AM at the Harry Gwala Stadium on Tuesday evening.

Four minutes before the half in Pietermaritzburg, in the eastern region, the Namibian scored, leaping to drive a loose ball into the net’s roof.

Shalulile scored against Royal for the second time in four days; in their first league encounter of the season, last Saturday in Pretoria, he scored the lone goal.

Premiership teams wouldn’t typically face each other twice in a short period of time, but Sundowns are making up for missed opportunities owing to CAF Champions League games.

Before Lesiba Nku doubled the advantage in the 74th minute with an unstoppable rocket into the far corner beyond Cameroonian goalkeeper Hugo Nyame, Sundowns had already struck the post twice.

Despite performing below his usual level this season, Shalulile—who led Namibia to victory at the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations in the Ivory Coast—still managed to score eight goals in the league.

Deep into additional time, Marco Allende of Chile missed a penalty kick that would have given Sundowns a bigger lead.

Standing in for the rested first choice Ronwen Williams, veteran Sundowns custodian Denis Onyango was essentially a spectator as Royal failed to get a single goal attempt on target.

Sundowns is aiming to break multiple records in the wealthiest African national tournament after winning the Premiership for the eighth time in a row last week.

They will shatter their own record for the most points in a season with three more wins from three games, and if they win, they will become the first team to finish a season undefeated.

In the last round on May 25, Sundowns still have to play three top-half teams: Cape Town City at home, TS Galaxy and Stellenbosch on the road.

Photo by Gerhard Duraan/BackpagePix