Van Wyk rescues Sundowns with stoppage-time equaliser, Chiefs held by Polokwane - TimesLIVE
Antonio van Wyk continues to prove being a top signing for Mamelodi Sundowns as the winger rescued the side from the brink of a shock defeat to Chippa United in a Betway Premiership clash at Buffalo City Stadium on Saturday.
Van Wyk scored during the referee’s optional time to force a 1-1 draw with the Chilli Boys, who remain winless after six outings.
Sirgio Kammies gave the Chilli Boys hope of getting their first victory of the season when he put the ball past Ronwen Williams with 12 minutes left to play.
However, a blunder from Nigerian shot-stopper Stanley Nwabali, who failed to deal properly with a cross, denied them the opportunity. Nwabali palmed the ball and it fell on Van Wyk inside the box.
The forward hit the ball, which deflected off a Chippa defender and went into the net. Van Wyk scored his second league goal since joining Masandawana from Austrian outfit SV Ried before the start of the campaign.
The 24-year-old star now has a total of four goals as he also scored two goals in Sundowns’ run to the MTN8 final.
Despite the draw, Sundowns remain top of the table with 20 points from eight matches. They are seven points ahead of second-placed Orlando Pirates, who have three games in hand.
Sundowns were not the only big guns to drop points on the day as Kaizer Chiefs also played to a 1-1 draw against Polokwane City at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium.
Lebohang Maboe opened the scoring for Amakhosi on the 29th minute as the Soweto giants looked to minimise the gap between themselves and the top two sides.
But Giovanni Philander’s 73rd-minute goal for Rise and Shine meant the sides would take one point each.
Chiefs dropped to fourth place on the league’s log table with 12 points. This after AmaZulu FC claimed all three points when they beat Marumo Gallants 1-0 at Moses Mabhida Stadium, thanks to a goal from the Premiership’s leading scorer Thandolwenkosi Ngwenya.
Coach Arthur Zwane’s Usuthu are on 13 points after six outings.
