Shalulile to bounce back after misfiring at Stellies

Shalulile to bounce back after misfiring at Stellies

In what can only be described as a mediocre performance, Peter Shalulile on Sunday failed to get a solitary shot on goal in Mamelodi Sundowns’ 1-1 draw at Stellenbosch – something seen very rarely.

It proved a frustrating afternoon as he found service hard to come by, and then saw his side’s winning run in the DStv Premiership come to an end.

But the Namibian international, recently named captain of his national team, is still expected to be the key man on Saturday when Sundowns host Al Ahly of Egypt in the African Champions League.

Just last week he netted a hat-trick against Marumo Gallants in the Nedbank Cup second round, which took his tally in South African football to 94. At his current scoring rate, it surely won’t be long before he reaches three figures.

Shalulile began his career as a flying fullback and was spotted by Owen da Gama playing for Namibia in the Cosafa Cup and snapped up by Highlands Park, though in truth he had very little impact in his first two seasons.

His breakthrough came in the 2017/18 season when he scored 15 goals in helping Highlands to promotion from the second-tier. It was a battle again in the big-time and he netted only eight goals in his first 38 appearances in the DStv Premiership (one every 4.75 games).

But that all changed from 2019/20 onwards when he scored 16 goals and won a move to Mamelodi Sundowns, where he has been simply sensational. Since the start of that season, he has scored 63 league goals in 101 appearances, or a goal every 1.60 games.