Second half goals from Lucas Ribeiro and Aubrey Modiba ensured that Mamelodi Sundowns ended their preseason tour of Austria with a 2-1 win against Al Hilal at Rudolf Tonn Stadium.
The match against the Saudi Pro League side was the second on Friday but overall fifth on tour for Bafana ba style. Earlier in the day they defeated Qatari Stars 3-0 their first win on the tour following the 2-1 loss to German third division side SV Sandhausen, a 1-0 defeat to Dynamo Kyiv of Ukraine and the 1-1 stalemate against Cardiff City.
The South African champions had a very early chance to break the deadlock but that was wasted with the other notable chances coming late in the first half but Peter Shalulile could not put both away.
In the second half the home side were awarded a penalty for a suspicious handball but Dennis Onyango did well to deny Aleksandar Mitrovic. Sundowns reacted immediately with a Ribeiro shot that handed the visitors a lead.
This was short-lived as the African Football League champions conceded another penalty midway the half which Mitrovic converted this time to level matters.
It wasn’t over as Modiba registered his name on the score sheet to regain Sundowns’ lead later on.
Sundowns will return home to finalise their preparations for the 2024/25 Betway Premiership season. They open their campaign at home against Polokwane City in the MTN8 quarterfinals on Sunday 11 August.
