Mamelodi Sundowns went three points clear at the top of the Betway Premiership table after they beat TS Galaxy 1-0 at Loftus Versfeld on Wednesday night.
Arthur Sales stepped off the bench to score the winner on 61 minutes as Miguel Cardoso's side extended their unbeaten run in the league to three games and opened up a three-point gap to Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs.
Bafana ba Style targeted a return to winning ways after they played out to a 1-1 draw with the Buccaneers on Saturday, while the Rockets looked to build on their 2-0 success against Stellenbosch on Sunday which halted a two-match losing streak.
The hosts enjoyed the lion's share of the possession in the first half and they attempted twice as many shots as the opposition, although Ira Tape wasn't tested nearly enough for their liking.
Masandawana threatened as early as the fifth minute when an effort from Peter Shalulile went narrowly past the post before Tashreeq Matthews also saw his shot drift wide of the mark on 12 minutes.
Nuno Santos managed to draw a save out of Tape on 24 minutes, but a deflection took all the sting out of his strike from range, with Khuliso Mudau then clearing the crossbar in the 32nd minute after lining up a shot from the edge of the area.
Ronwen Williams was called into action twice in quick succession three minutes later to prevent Adnan Beganovic's side from taking a surprise lead as the two teams went into the break still at level pegging.
Sundowns continued to dominate proceedings after the restart and they finally made the breakthrough 16 minutes into the second half as two substitutes combined, with Iqraam Rayners cutting the ball back for Sales, who produced a clinical finish from inside the box.
Impact off the Sundowns bench 😮💨🎯
— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) November 5, 2025
You can't miss an Arthur Sales celebration 🕺
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Teboho Mokoena nearly doubled their lead nine minutes later, but Tape pulled off an outstanding save to turn his curling effort behind for a corner.
Galaxy offered very little in attack throughout the second half and the Tshwane giants saw out the remainder of the game without much fuss to claim their seventh victory of the season.
Sundowns (0) 1 (Sales 61')
TS Galaxy 0
Mamelodi Sundowns: R. Williams, K. Mudau, G. Kekana, K. Cupido, A. Modiba, M. Allende, T. Mokoena, T. Ntsabeleng (A. Sales 46'), N. Santos (S. Mkhulise 79'), T. Matthews (T. Maseko 87'), P. Shalulile (I. Rayners 55').
TS Galaxy: I. Tape, P. Fisher, I. Salatiel, V. Zulu, S. Letsoenyo, S. Maduna, J. Dlamini (N. Nkosi 89'), P. Dithejane (Q. Sibande 72'), M. Keita (N. Mgaga 80'), S. Mahlambi (M. Ouamri 80'), J. Zindoga (O. Moletshe 89').
