Mamelodi Sundowns’ 7-4 win over Siwelele in the Betway Premiership at Atteridgeville on Saturday set a new record for the most goals scored in a game in the league in the Premier Soccer League era.
It was also the first time that players from competing teams scored a hat-trick in a game, with Colombian import Brayan Leon grabbing three for Sundowns and Ghampani Lungu scoring a career first hat-trick for Siwelele.
The 11 goals in the game bettered the previous record of 10 netted when Platinum Stars 6-4 Lamontville Golden Arrows at Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace in December 2012.
It was the fourth time a team had scored four goals in a match but still ended on the losing side, after Cape Town Spurs lost 5-4 at home to Kaizer Chiefs in March 1999 and Ria Stars were beaten by the same score by Black Leopards at home in 2001.
Only months before the start of the SL in mid-1996, Chiefs beat Manning Rangers 9-1 in the old National Soccer League.
In the National Professional Soccer League, the most goals scored in a single league game is 13, jointly set by Zulu Royals, who beat Nigel United Buccaneers 11-2 in July 1972 and Moroka Swallows, who scored a 13-0 win over Umlazi Citizens United in October 1976.
In the whites-only National Football League, which folded in 1977, the record was 20 goals when Durban City won 17-3 over Johannesburg City in 1961.
The overall record for the most goals in a professional game in South African football is 24, all netted by Sundowns against the hapless Kimberley outfit Powerlines in the first round of the Nedbank Cup in March 2012.
Highest scoring league games (PSL):
11 – Mamelodi Sundowns 7 Siwelele 4 (May 2026)
10 – Platinum Stars 6 Lamontville Golden Arrows 4 (December 2012)
9 – Kaizer Chiefs 7 Witbank Aces 2 (September 1996)
9 – Cape Town Spurs 4 Kaizer Chiefs 5 (March 1999)
9 – Ria Stars 4 Black Leopards 5 (December 2001)
9 – SuperSport United 8 Zulu Royals 1 (June 2004)
9 – Orlando Pirates 8 Marumo Gallants 1 (December 2024)