MAMELODI Sundowns face the biggest match of their season when they meet neighbours and Absa Premier Soccer League leaders SuperSport United, in a top- of-the table clash at Loftus tomorrow night.

That’s the opinion of Downs central defender Matthew Booth, who made his comeback to the squad after being plagued by an ankle injury for four months, when he sat on the bench for Wednesday night’s rained off showdown against second-placed Santos at Atteridgeville’s Super Stadium.

Downs were looking good, leading Santos 1-0 when referee Buyile Gqubule had no option but to abandon the game after 38 minutes due to heavy rain, a strong wind, bad lightning and the fact that the floodlights failed on the main grandstand due to the storm.

Booth said: “It was a pity the rain forced the match against Santos to be abandoned.

“I reckoned we were heading for a win. Had we won that it would have put a lot more pressure on SuperSport. But having said that, this derby is a make-or-break game for our title hopes.”

Booth said he believed the defending champions were vulnerable having drawn their last two matches and is quietly confident Downs can get the upper hand.

Booth and his team-mates know it is win or bust with the gap of nine points between the two city rivals.

“We now have a match in hand and need to reduce the gap, otherwise SuperSport will run away with their third successive league title. We owe it to ourselves to win and make sure the title is not settled before Christmas.”

Booth said Downs had gained in confidence with a six-match unbeaten run under their temperamental Bulgarian coach, Hristo Stoichkov. He was in one of his famous bad moods after the rain put a damper on what would have been a big win over Santos, refusing to talk to the media.

But the former Barcelona star has made an impact at Downs and has guided them slowly up the table to challenge United.

Booth said that United’s big strength had been consistency over the past three years under coach Gavin Hunt, winning back-to-back championships and being in line for a third.

The dangerman for United is their former striker, Katlego Mphela, who netted his 13th goal of the season against Santos with a sublime header.

Orlando Pirates, who were beaten 1-0 by bottom club Jomo Cosmos at the Rand Stadium on Wednesday, get the chance to make amends when they host Golden Arrows at the Orlando Stadium tomorrow.

The weekend’s fixtures:

Tomorrow: 3.30pm Platinum Stars v Black Aces, Bidvest Wits v Ajax Cape, Free State Stars v Jomo Cosmos, Orlando Pirates v Golden Arrows, 8pm Santos v Moroka Swallows, 8.15pm SuperSport United v Mamelodi Sundowns.

Sunday: 3.30pm Maritzburg Utd v Kaizer Chiefs, AmaZulu v Bloem Celtic. – Sapa