Mamelodi Sundowns have advanced to the Caf Champions League semi-finals after beating Tanzanian giants Young Africans SC 3-2 on penalties on Friday night.
Sundowns goalkeeper Ronwen Williams was the hero of the night. He saved two penalties to steer the Brazilians to their second consecutive Champions League semi-final.
Yellow nation heeded the call
The Sundowns yellow nation responded swiftly to the call by coach Rulani Mokwena. They came out in their numbers and filled up Loftus with their famous drums.
It was a game of consequences. A must win for both teams after sharing spoils and playing to a goalless stalemate in the first leg. This was at the Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium in Tanzania last week.
Mokwena named a strong starting line-up. It saw the likes of Thembinkosi Lorch, Lucas Ribeiro Costa, Peter Shalulile and captain Themba Zwane lead the line of attack.
As expected, Sundowns started on the front foot and took the game to Yanga, with the hope to get an early goal.
The visitors did, though, seem comfortable sitting back and absorbing the pressure coming from the fluid and dangerous Sundowns attack.
Close shave
Sundowns kept on applying pressure to the disciplined Yanga defense . They almost broke the deadlock through Lorch, who fired a shot. But goalkeeper Djigui Diarra was equal to the task and saved the ball out for a corner.
The tempo of the game continued to build up – living up to its expectation. Tempers were high, and there was pushing and shoving from both teams.
In the second half, the Tanzanian giants came out as a different side. They showcased their attacking prowess. And they posed a threat to a Sundowns defense that didn’t have much to do in the first half.
VAR to the rescue
The visitors thought they had broken deadlock in the 58th minute when playmaker Stephane Aziz pulled a rocket of a shot inside the box. This left Mzansi’s number one Williams with no chance. But the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) denied them what looked like a clear goal.
Mokwena reacted and made a couple of changes. This saw Zwane, Lorch, Aubrey Modiba being withdrawn for Thapelo Maseko, Gaston Sirino and Neo Maema.
In the dying stages of the game, it was end-to-end stuff as the two sides were in search for the sucker punch. But it was not meant to be as the referee blew his final whistle. He took the game straight to a penalty shootout to decide the winner.
