Thapelo Morena breaks Marumo Gallants' hearts with late winner as Sundowns secure treble

That Mamelodi Sundowns won their sixth Nedbank Cup title in beating Marumo Gallants 2-1 at a festive Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace in Phokeng on Saturday indeed made them worthy champions.

However, it was a cup title they had to sweat for as their season-long fatigue nearly got the better of them as an energetic Gallants side probed and prodded until the very end.

After Junior Dion's 76th-minute equaliser canceled out Peter Shalulile's 33rd-minute opener, but Thapelo Morena's 119th-minute winner sealed the deal for Sundowns.

It was a hard-fought win that in the end, Sundowns deserved, but had to fight hard for their success, but an unnecessary pitch invasion that showed up the inadequacy of the security soured the end event.

In the cool of the Rustenburg night, the tempo of the final never slowed down and both goalkeepers were kept busy throughout.

Washington Arubi, whose heroics allowed Tshakuma Tsha Madzhivandila to win the tournament last season, was called into action in the fifth minute to foil Neo Maema.

Then six minutes later, Khuliso Mudau also had a chance, but that was narrowly wide of Arubi's net.

A minute later, the first bit of controversy unfurled when the nippy Katlego Otladisa was fouled in the box, but referee Masixole Bambiso chose not to award the spot-kick.

The moment happened in front of the small, but noisy Marumo Gallants traveling contingent, and they made their displeasure known.

The game then settled into a fast-paced midfield battle where the sides battled to retain possession for sustained periods.

While it was scrappy, it also allowed the game to open up as they tried to outflank each other to the final third.

One such movement led to Sundowns' opening goal in the 33rd-minute as Sirino's sweeping run