Rhodes ends Mamelodi Sundowns' record unbeaten run
Champions Mamelodi Sundowns surrendered a 53-match unbeaten South African Premiership record on Saturday, losing 1-0 to visiting Cape Town City in the final round of the season.
The Pretoria outfit, who bettered the previous record of 31 matches unbeaten by Kaizer Chiefs early this season, were last beaten in the league in September 2022 by SuperSport United.
Jaedin Rhodes scored his sixth goal of the campaign for Cape Town on 60 minutes, punishing a blunder by Mothobi Mvala to race through and fire past goalkeeper Ronwen Williams.
Veteran goalkeeper Darren Keet defied Sundowns in the closing stages with a series of saves that earned him the man-of-the-match award.
Cape Town were not given much chance of preventing Sundowns becoming the first Premiership team to complete a season unbeaten as they had not won on the road since last December.
"We fought like lions. It was a helluva performance considering we missed a number of players due to illness and injuries," said former South Africa international Keet.
"It was nerve-racking in the closing stages as Sundowns sought an equaliser, but these are the moments a goalkeeper lives for."
Sundowns finished on 73 points -- 23 ahead of runners-up Orlando Pirates -- having clinched a seventh straight title early in May with six matches to spare.
Pirates snatched second place, and CAF Champions League qualification, despite being held 1-1 at home in Soweto by seventh-placed SuperSport United.
Tshegofatso Mabasa scored a tap-in goal for Pirates, and his 16th in the league won the forward, who moved from Moroka Swallows in mid-season, the Golden Boot award.
Pirates pipped Stellenbosch on goal difference and the Cape winelands club and fourth-placed Sekhukhune United will go into the second-tier CAF Confederation Cup.
An end-of-season slump by Stellenbosch continued as they fell 2-1 at Richards Bay, whose win could not save them from play-offs with two second division sides for one Premiership place.
Royal AM snapped a seven-match winless run with a 2-1 victory over fellow strugglers Moroka Swallows in Soweto -- a result that ensured Richards Bay finished second last.
Already relegated Cape Town Spurs bowed out on a high, defeating fallen giants Kaizer Chiefs 2-0 with goals from Ashley Cupido and Michael Morton.
Chiefs, winners of a record 53 South African titles, finished 10th, their worst showing in the Premiership, after a ninth consecutive season without a trophy.
