Club World Cup: Mamelodi Sundowns kick off with a win

Mamelodi Sundowns made a triumphant start to their FIFA Club World Cup campaign, clinching a 1-0 victory over South Korean side Ulsan HD on Wednesday night at Orlando.

After a kickoff delayed by an hour due to weather conditions, the Brazilians from Pretoria quickly seized control of the game. From the opening minutes, Arthur Sales looked dangerous, as did Erick Farias for Ulsan. Miguel Cardoso’s men thought they had broken the deadlock in the 29th minute when Iqraam Rayners pounced on a Lucas Ribeiro corner, but the goal was disallowed for handball after a VAR review.

But Rayners wasn’t discouraged. Just six minutes later, he found himself at the end of another attack after a through ball from Ribeiro. With a clinical side-footed finish, he beat the Korean goalkeeper to score the only goal of the match.

Just before halftime, Rayners thought he had doubled the lead, but this time he was flagged offside. In the second half, Ulsan HD pressed forward. Jung Woo-Young nearly equalized, but Divine Lunga came up with a crucial tackle inside the box. Despite a late error from Ronwen Williams in the dying minutes, Sundowns held firm to secure their first win of the tournament. They now top Group F ahead of their clash with Dortmund on Saturday.

Aliou Toundé |

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