Lack of control: Sundowns boss irked by referee display, makes no excuse for absent Bafana stars

The intense clash between Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates in the DStv Premiership ended in a 1-1 draw at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

With 28 fouls, seven yellow cards, one red card, and numerous stoppages due to heated exchanges, the match was filled with excitement and drama.

However, Masandawana's head coach, Rhulani Mokwena, was not impressed with the way referee Thando Ndzandzeka handled the match.

"I don't like the 90 minutes. I think for a game of football, you need three good teams. I think there were three teams that were below par today. Of course, one of them is mine," said the 37-year-old as he alluded to the officiating of Ndzandzeka and his assistants.

"As the coach, when my team is not playing well, I am the first, of course, that needs to be accountable for that, and I don't think that was a good game of football in my opinion.

"There were far too many off-the-ball incidents, far too many elbows ... and I don't think the referees had control of the game either. I don't talk about referees, so the least I say, the better, but this was not a game of football I liked at all."

Following the Premier Soccer League's decision to postpone the restart of the DStv Premiership due to Bafana Bafana's return from the Africa Cup of Nations, only a few of the 10 Sundowns players who were on duty in Ivory Coast showed up for training on Thursday before Saturday's match.

Among them, only Ronwen Williams and Thapelo Morena started and were included in the matchday squad. Other players were sidelined due to injuries sustained during their international duty in Ivory Coast.

The absence of Khuliso Mudau, Grant Kekana, Mothobi Mvala, Aubrey Modiba, Teboho Mokoena, Thapelo Maseko, and Themba Zwane was keenly felt in Mokwena's