Mamelodi Sundowns opened a gap at the top of the Betway Premiership standings after securing a hard-fought 2-0 victory over Sekhukhune United at the New Peter Mokaba Stadium on Tuesday night.

The win saw Masandawana open a three-point lead at the top of the standings, but second-placed Orlando Pirates have two games in hand. The Tshwane giants will be off to Rwanda, where they are scheduled to lock horns with Sudanese giants Al Hilal Omdurman on Friday in the CAF Champions League fixture.

Babina Noko, on the other hand, remained fifth in the standings, but they are three points behind second-placed Pirates, albeit having played three extra matches. Coach Eric Tinkler's side will travel to Mpumalanga, where they are set to take on TS Galaxy in another league encounter on Sunday.

Masandawana were allowed to control the match and dominate possession from the start, with Babina Noko happy to sit back and launch counter-attacks. Goalkeeper Renaldo Leaner produced a superb save to deny Brayan Leon in the 42nd minute, before denying Iqraam Rayners a few minutes later, and the score was 0-0 at halftime.

Sundowns continued to dominate the match after the restart, but they were frustrated by Leaner, who had kept a clean sheet against Orlando Pirates over the weekend. The agile goalkeeper made a comfortable save to deny the troublesome Leon in the 48th minute, and he also pulled off an amazing block, denying Tashreeq Matthews in the 74th minute.

However, the champions never stopped knocking and they were finally rewarded in stoppage time when Khuliso Mudau set up fellow substitute Nuno Santos, making it 1-0 to Sundowns. The 2-0 victory over Sekhukhune was sealed by Leon, who fired home from the rebound after Leaner had made a save from Peter Shalulile's attempt.

Sekhukhune 0

Sundowns 2 (Santos 90'+1, Leon 90'+4)

Sekhukhune: Leaner, Phiri (Tlaka 59'), Matsimbi (Yamba Yamba 10'), Monare, Mkhize, Langa, Ndlovu, Letlapa, Grobler (Boyeli 60'), Cardoso, Mncube (Malivha 83')

Sundowns: Onyango, Johannes, Ndamane, Lunga (Modiba 81'), Adams, Reisinho, Morena (Mudau 81'), Mkhulise (Santos 58'), Sales (Shalulile 77'), Rayners (Matthews 58'), Leon