In keeping with the theme of the World Cup so far, the 25,000-seater stadium in which Sundowns and Ulsan did battle was almost empty. Chatter among players on the field could be heard, even as the paltry fans tried to spur on the teams.
A 1-0 victory over the South Korean side Ulsan significantly boosted Sundowns’ chances of making it to the knockout stage of the beleaguered tournament. Bafana Bafana forward Rayners breached the Ulsan defense in 36 minutes at Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando, Florida.
The Mitchells Plain-born attacker could have had a hat-trick in the opening stanza, but he had a couple of goals ruled out. One for handball and another for offside. Nevertheless, the serial South African champions held on to claim an important win in their first outing at the rejigged global tournament — which has so far struggled to garner the type of hype organizer Fifa hoped it would generate.
No comment yet, add your voice below!