Sundowns held by Pirates, Chiefs fire blanks against Royal
The return of the DStv Premiership after a recess of more than six weeks saw champions and leaders Mamelodi Sundowns held to a 1-1 draw by fellow heavyweights Orlando Pirates, while Kaizer Chiefs fired blanks in a stalemate away to Royal AM.
The headline match came from Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Saturday night, as 10-man Pirates fought back from a goal down to hold Sundowns 1-1.
The Brazilians found themselves with an advantage when the Buccaneers’ Miguel Timm was sent off for a second bookable offence nine minutes into the second half, and they then claimed the lead with just under a quarter hour of regulation time to play when Marcelo Allende struck home a fine goal.
However, Pirates earned a penalty just a few minutes later and defender Thapelo Xoki netted from the spot to deny Sundowns a victory for only the third time in 15 league matches this season – though the Tshwane team remains very much in charge of the title race, enjoying a nine-point lead with two games in hand.
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