Another clean sheet from Rowen Williams on Friday night, as champions Mamelodi Sundowns extended their lead at the top of the DStv Premiership to 10 points by beating Richards Bay 2-0 away, means the country’s No 1 goalkepeer has moved closer to a Premier Soccer League record.
It was a seven successive clean sheet in the league for Williams, who has played all of the club’s 15 league games this season since his record signing from SuperSport United in the off-season. He has conceded only five times, the last time in the league to Pule Mmodi of Lamontville Golden Arrows in September
Williams, who turns 31 later this month, is now two games away from equaling the PSL record set by Wayne Roberts at Wits in the 2003-04 season, when he kept nine successive clean sheets.
Williams on Friday equaled Sundowns’ club record seven clean sheets in a row. Calvin Marlin achieved the feat in the title-winning 2006-07 season.
That was matched the following campaign by Kennedy Mweene at Free State Stars, while Moeneeb Josephs kept seven clean sheets in a row for Orlando Pirates in the 2009-10 season and then again for Bidvest Wits in the 2015-16 campaign.
Josephs also had a separate run of six successive clean sheets in the 2009-10 season.
AmaZulu’s Veli Mothwa kept six clean sheets in a row for AmaZulu in two successive seasons – in the 2020-21 campaign and again last term.
Other goalkeepers with six clean sheets in a row are Brian Baloyi (Kaizer Chiefs 02/03), Itumeleng Khune (Chiefs 16/17), Denis Onyango (Sundowns 21/22) and Brendon Wardle (Santos 03/04).
Williams must now keep a clean sheet against Chippa United on Tuesday and his old club SuperSport on January 16 to equal the record and if he is to break it, repeat the feat against Chiefs at Soccer City on January 21.