Maboe hat-trick leads Sundowns to La Decima
In a dramatic final day of Absa Premiership action, Mamelodi Sundowns were crowned champions for a third season in a row following a 3-0 thumping of Black Leopards at Dobsonville Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
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Lebohang Maboe netted a hat-trick for the Brazilians to lead them to the summit of the league standings and subsequently secure a 10th league title in the Premier Soccer League era. Sundowns end the season on 59 points, two clear of Kaizer Chiefs who could only manage a 1-1 draw against Baroka FC.
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Defeat condemns Leopards to the promotion / relegation playoffs where they will battle Ajax Cape Town and Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila for a place in South Africa's top-flight next season.
Sundowns squandered a chance to open the scoring in the 32nd minute. The Tshwane club were awarded a penalty following a reckless challenge on Themba Zwane but King Ndlovu denied the usually reliable Ricardo Nascimento from the spot.
The Brazilians finally got their goal in the last play of the half as Maboe headed home Zwane's inch-perfect cross, but with the Amakhosi leading 1-0 at Bidvest Stadium, the title was the Soweto club's to lose at the halfway mark.
Maboe completed his brace eight minutes later as Zwane teed up the forward once more before adding a third in second-half stoppage time, this time from a Keletso Makgalwa assist.
With news filtering through that Chiefs could only manage a draw in their encounter, Sundowns celebrated a hat-trick of Absa Premiership titles as Pitso Mosimane became the first coach to win five league crowns.
Mamelodi Sundowns (1) 3 (Maboe 45+5' 53' 90+2')
Black Leopards (0) 0
Mamelodi Sundowns: Mweene; Langerman (Lakay 56'), Nascimento, Madisha, Ngcongca (Makgalwa 83'), Coetzee, Kekana, Sirino, Zwane, Mkhuma (Mkhulise 39'), Maboe.
Black Leopards: Ndlovu; Zulu, Masia, Gyimah (Ndou 55'), Mudau (Ndawonde 58'), Abubakar (Andrianarimanana 55'), Makgetlwa (Ng'ambi 70'), Matlaba, Khutlang (Thutlwa 89'), Mokoena, Ndlovu.
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