Lucas Ribeiro Costa converted a contentious penalty as Mamelodi Sundowns stretched their lead at the top of the league table after a 1-0 win against Cape Town Spurs at Athlone Stadium.

The win means Masandawana remain unbeaten after 20 league matches and are now 13 points clear with 10 games of the campaign still to play.

The controversial decision came five minutes before the halftime break when the visitors were awarded a spot-kick by referee Thabo Mkhabela even though Peter Shalulile seemed to have been fouled just outside the box. Instead of awarding a free kick Mkhabela pointed to the spot to give Lucas Riberio a chance to fire in his 11th league goal of the season.

Spurs head coach Ernst Middendorp was dismayed at the decision and angrily confronted the officials as the players were leaving the field for the halftime break.

Sundowns, to their credit, had dominated possession in the opening period but could not break down a stubborn defence from the home side. The home side, clearly feeling a sense of injustice, were fired up after the interval and gave a much better account of themselves as they looked to get back in the contest.

They were unlucky not to snatch a share of the spoils in the dying stages when striker Ashley Cupido came close to beating Ronwen Williams off Keagan Buchanan’s corner but his shot hit the upright.