Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns played out to a 1-1 draw in their Betway Premiership encounter at FNB Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Chiefs arrived into the tie, top of the table and brimming with confidence after two wins from two – while Sundowns opened their league campaign with a dramatic 3-2 win over TS Galaxy in midweek.
After an uninspiring first half with only one shot on target for each side, the game sprung into life just after the hour mark with a moment of brilliance from Chiefs.
Siphisihle Ndlovu secured possession just outside the area and danced past a couple of Sundowns player looking to win the ball – before laying the ball of to Langelihle Phili – who fired the ball past Ronwen Williams.
Having arrived just a week ago in a lucrative switch from Stellenbosch, it was a moment to savour, with emotions running high as he took the yellow card for his celebration when he took of his shirt.
The Soweto Giants and their supporters were buzzing with excitement, looking to secure a rare league win over Masandawana at FNB Stadium. But Miguel Cardoso, looked to his bench to find the equaliser.
Cassius Mailula, who netted on his second debut for the club in the MTN8 – once again coming clutch, with a header beating Brandon Petersen and getting the scores level with 15 minutes to go.
While Sundowns had the bulk of the possession which was expected with da Cruz fielding a defensive line-up due to injury constraints, with five left-back options being unavailable. The points shared was probably a fair result based on the balance of chances created at Soccer City.
The result leaves Chiefs on top with seven points from three games, level on points with AmaZulu – who beat Siwelele 2-0 in the other 3pm kickoff this afternoon.