When it rained, it poured for Mamelodi Sundowns at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium after succumbing to a heartbreaking 1-0 (2-0 aggregate) defeat to Esperance on Friday night.
The result means that north African dominance in the Champions League is set to continue for at least another season. This as Tunisian giants Esperance set up a date in the final with Egyptian giants Percy Tau’s Al Ahly.
Al Ahly booked their spot in the final after beating TP Mazembe 3-0 at the Cairo International Stadium in Egypt. This was in the other semi-final second leg.
Game of consequences
As Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena would say, the game against Esperance was a game of consequences. This with his side going into the second leg tie trailing by one goal after losing the first header in Tunisia last weekend.
Mokwena made some interesting changes to his line-up. This saw Thembinkosi Lorch, Aubrey Modiba and Themba Zwane starting from the bench. Midfield workhorse Teboho Mokoena was ruled out due to a hamstring injury.
Responding to the calls from goalkeeper Ronwen Williams, the Yellow Nation filled Loftus to its full capacity, as they rallied behind their team.
Some Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates fans were also in attendance, with their stance subtly leaning towards the visiting side.
As expected, Sundowns took the game to Esperance with one goal in mind, which was to find the back of the net early in the game and ultimately open up the game.
The visitors, on the other hand, had a clear game plan. That was to sit back and absorb the pressure, as they had nothing to lose with a goal already in the bag.
Leading the line of attack for Sundowns was striker Peter Shalulile, who came close to scoring two minutes into the game.
Moments into second half, fate was sealed
The heavens opened up and the rain fell as Masandawana were hunting for that early goal. However, due to thunderstorms, the referee brought the game to a halt in the 20th minute.
After serious deliberation between the match commissioner and his officials, action would return. Sundowns picked up from where they left off. But their half-chances were not enough, and they went into the break goalless.
Moments into the second half, the visitors silenced the Sundowns crowd as they caught them on a counterattack. Substitute Raed Bouchniba made no mistake and beat Williams at close range.
Mokwena reacted and made changes. This saw all his attacking prowess being introduced in Lorch, Zwane, Modiba and Tashreeq Matthews. But their efforts in trying to get an equaliser and ultimately get the second and third were not enough. They crashed out of the semis for the second time running.
