Mamelodi Sundowns coach Manqoba Mngqithi has heaped praise on goalkeeper Ronwen Williams, who played a pivotal role in the Tshwane giants’ 2-1 victory over Kaizer Chiefs in the Betway Premiership match at FNB Stadium on Saturday.

Williams, returning to the side after overcoming a shoulder injury, made several crucial saves to deny Chiefs’ Edson Castillo and Ashley Du Preez, preserving Sundowns’ lead in the late stages of the second half.

“Ronwen Williams is one of the best leaders you could ever have in a team,” said Mngqithi. “Besides his talent and ability, he has the right energy and the right footballing brain. More importantly, he is very selfless, making him one of the best leaders. He sees the game very well, and it’s a pleasure to have a player like him in your team. His return has significantly stabilized our team and brought us back to where we belong.”

Regarding Williams’ saves, Mngqithi emphasized that they were expected of a goalkeeper of his caliber. “With regards to the saves that he made, sometimes they say you can’t congratulate a fish for swimming because that is why he is number one, that’s why he is highly respected because he is a very good athlete, a very good goalkeeper, and very good leader overall,” he added.

Chiefs opened the scoring early in the first half when Ranga Chivaviro managed to beat Sundowns defender Mosa Lebusa and poke the ball past Williams. However, Sundowns fought back, with Tashreeq Matthews setting up Lucas Ribeiro Costa for the equalizer.

Costa later assisted Iqraam Rayners for Sundowns’ winning goal. However, a controversial offside call in the build-up to the goal left Chiefs’ coach Nasreddine Nabi and his technical team fuming.