Orlando Pirates 1-2 Mamelodi Sundowns - Brazilians' Player Ratings as Adams Excels Again

John Eastwood

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Last updated: 4 hours ago

John Eastwood 4 hours ago

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Mamelodi Sundowns beat Orlando Pirates 2-1 in Soweto.
Brayan Leon scored two crucial goals; Jayden Adams named our Man of the Match.
Strong defense from Ronwen Williams and Khulumani Ndamane secured victory.

Jayden Adams had another outstanding game in midfield (Getty Images).

Mamelodi Sundowns beat Orlando Pirates 2-1 in Soweto on Wednesday. Below are the player ratings for the Sundowns starting XI and subs as the Brazilians picked up a crucial league victory.

Ronwen Williams: 8

The goalkeeper made two huge early saves, including an acrobatic effort with his feet. He kept his side level and had a big hand in the victory.

Khuliso Mudau: 7

The stay-at-home fullback had a steady game. Pirates got little joy down their left and Mudau kept key creative weapon Rele Mofokeng very quiet.

Grant Kekana: 6

The veteran defender made an early error which nearly led to a goal. He lost his cool in the second half and never looked totally comfortable when asked to defend big spaces.

Khulumani Ndamane: 8

The lanky defender made a goal-saving challenge in the first half. Sundowns scored immediately afterwards and that moment was key to the three points. Ndamane had to go off with cramp after a strong outing.

Aubrey Modiba: 8

With a truly sublime assist, Modiba's technical quality is coming to the fore of late. He defended strongly and passed the ball very effectively in deeper areas.

Thapelo Morena: 7

The versatile winger had to sacrifice himself for the team. He tracked Deon Hotto to good effect and was very responsible as an auxiliary fullback at times.

Teboho Mokoena: 7

This was yet another strong defensive performance. He broke up play, got stuck into challenges and passed the ball well.

Jayden Adams: 9 - Man of the Match

The midfielder was brilliant in this match. Despite Pirates pressing him with two men at times, he bypassed pressure and broke lines with ease. He did a good job defensively too, and is now reaching the undroppable stage.

Nuno Santos: 6

The Portuguese number ten contributed a sublime assist, but it was an off game otherwise. He offered very little defensively and was caught on the ball several times.

Tashreeq Matthews: 6

He has made just one goal contribution in 14 matches, and this was another off-colour display. Nothing seemed to go for him and his shooting was wayward.

Brayan Leon: 9

The striker scored two brilliant goals. He was a menace to the Pirates defence. He is perhaps unlucky not to be given the man of the match award, but his influence in the second half waned somewhat.

Substitutes:

Marcelo Allende: 6

The midfielder came on to steady the ship. He helped to take the string out of the game.

Themba Zwane: 7

The veteran once again looked different class. At times, Pirates were chasing his shadow.

Lebo Mothiba: 5

The tall striker gave an aerial outlet to keep the ball in the other team's half.

Kegan Johannes: 6

The centre back came on for Ndamane and did not put a foot wrong.

Divine Lunga: 6

Once Modiba tired and had some issues with cramp, Lunga steadied things down the Sundowns left flank.