Sundowns have it all to fight for in Cairo to secure berth in CAF final 

The first round of the so-called “continental derby” did not live up to expectations, as Mamelodi Sundowns and Al Ahly played to an uninspiring goalless stalemate at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in their CAF Champions League semi-final encounter yesterday. 

One may argue and say that the only positive thing that came out of the match, especially for Sundowns, was not conceding a goal or losing at home, and the return of midfield maestro Themba “Mshishi” Zwane, who has been on the sidelines for the last five months due to an Achilles tendon injury. 

Sundowns and Ahly will have it all to fight for in the second leg in Cairo this week for a Champions League final berth when they confront each other on Friday night. 

It goes without saying that the reigning PSL champions made things difficult for themselves by not scoring a goal at home, and the cause of that could be that they no longer impose fear on teams as they did a few seasons ago, and may have just lost that X-factor. 

Inasmuch as it will be a slight mountain to climb for the Brazilians to come out victorious in Cairo, with Ahly proving to be a different beast in the knockout stages of the competition, coach Miguel Cardoso is confident that his side has what it takes to edge the African club of the century. 

“We have a tough competition against a strong team. This game is undeniably a challenge, but we must beat it. The club has won against Al Ahly in the past, so we will try our best to get a positive result [in Cairo]. 

“From then on, we hope that we can compete in the final and play several league [Betway Premiership] matches with the hope of winning trophies,” Cardoso said. 

“We know that Al Ahly in the last seven years have won a lot of Champions League titles.  

“Last year, I unfortunately lost in the final against them, but I think beating them is a possibility.” 

Back to the dull match itself, Cardoso made a brave call to drop under-pressure defender Lucas Suarez to the bench, following a string of costly errors.  

Mosa Lebusa started ahead of the Argentinian and did a better job in shutting the back door alongside Bafana Bafana international Grant Kekana. 

The supporter turnout was decent from the yellow nation, considering that it’s the Easter weekend and the game was not the usual free entry affair. 

Also, Sundowns made sure that they beefed up their security after the CAF disciplinary board met on Wednesday to deliberate on various crowd control issues that transpired in SA a few weeks ago. 

Downs and Orlando Pirates were found guilty and slapped with fines of $100 000 (R1.9m) and $50 000 (R941 095) respectively. 

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Siyasanga Monoalibe