Mamelodi Sundowns defender Thapelo Morena became hero of the night for Masandawana after he pulled a late strike to earn his side a superb victory against Pitso Mosimane’s Al Ahly in the CAF Champions League Group A match at the Cairo International Stadium on Saturday night.
Morena’s late goal gave the Brazilians a crucial goal, as they are now sitting comfortably on top of the Group A with seven points.
This victory turned out to be an historic win for Sundowns as it was their first-ever to claim against Al Ahly on their home soil.
That's it from the Cairo International Stadium as the Brazilians manage to secure all 3 points, a clean sheet and a historic win in Egypt!👆
Al Ahly 0️⃣➖1️⃣Mamelodi Sundowns (85' Morena) #Sundowns #DownsLive #TotalEnergiesCAFCL pic.twitter.com/oJuZsSoCIP
— Mamelodi Sundowns FC (@Masandawana) February 26, 2022
Sundowns goalkeeper Kennedy Mweene took charge of the goal post as Denis Onyango was unavailable.
In the first half of the match, both teams struggled to find a rhythm.
Sundowns had a chance to break the deadlock in the first when Peter Shalulile picked out Teboho Mokoena in a dangerous position, but Mokoena couldn’t connect.
Moments later, Khuliso Mudau tried to link up with Mokoena but this time the pass overpowered the midfielder.
The hosts showed hunger for goals as a well-worked move by Mohamed Sherif nearly gave the Red Devils a goal in the match but Mweene denied him the chance to find back of the net.
The Egyptian Red Devils were looking confident with each passing minute trying to unlock Masandawana’s defense and just over thirty minutes had been played with the scores still deadlocked.
Aliou Dieng took a chance outside the box for the Egyptians and it looked like a goal scoring opportunity for the home team, but his efforts went over the goalposts.
The Red Devils were unable to build up a head of steam until the final 10 minutes.
The final effort of the first half came in injury time before the break, with Ali Maaloul shooting on target direct from a free kick, but Mweene was well placed to make the save and ensure that the score was 0-0 at the break.
Mosimane brought Percy Tau on in the second half to change the match, but Sundowns had all it takes to stop all tracks from their former star player.
Lyle Lakay had a superb chance to find back of the net in the 58th minute, but his beautifully-hit shot from distance was well saved by Al Ahly’s Mohammed El Shenawy.
The Brazilians brought in Morena who came off the bench to replace Themba Zwane, and in only space of four minutes after being introduced in the match, he scored a winning goal for Sundowns.
It was the 11th meeting between the two African giants in the competition, with their first match dating back to 2001.
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