Johannesburg - A solitary goal from Themba Zwane ensured that Mamelodi Sundowns began their CAF Champions League group stage campaign on a high note as they beat Al Hilal 1-0 at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg, on a cool Friday night.
After an impressive outing in the first half of the season, where they won the MTN8 and finished at the top of the Premiership standings, Sundowns picked up where they left off in the restart, winning the first two matches in domestic football.
But with those matches came in the Nedbank Cup last 32 against Richards Bay and in the league against Chippa United, this Champions League outing was going to test their character considering the opponents and logistics involved.
The Brazilians had to move their match to Rustenburg after their stadiums, Loftus Versfeld, Lucas Masterpieces Moripe and Tuks failed the evaluation process from CAF, while Al Hilal had been camping in Cape Town for a few weeks.
Moreover, Al Hilal were not going to be walkovers, given the fact that they boast Gerard Phiri and Abdul Ajugun, who were playing in the local top-flight earlier this season, in the line-up. The duo were at Baroka and Cape Town City.
Sundowns, after winning those back-to-back matches, were keen to transfer momentum to the continental showdown. So much so that their technical team didn’t hold back, as Peter Shalulile was paired with Pavol Safranko upfront.
There was also a place for want-away attacker Gaston Sirino in the starting line-up as he replaced Surprise Ralani, the new signing from Cape Town City FC.
But without breaking much of a sweat, the Brazilians found themselves in the driving seat as early as the eighth minute. A costly back-pass from Walieldin Khedr at the back found an unmarked Themba Zwane who slotted past Ali Eshrein.
The Sudanese-based outfit had a couple of decent chances of their own. But they were stopped in their tracks by resilient defence from the hosts, who had centre-backs Brian Onyango and Rushine De Reuck in the last line.
But the Brazilians suffered a massive blow in the 25th minute after Sirino had to be stretched off with a nose injury, following a collision with his marker.
We're off to a winning start in our #TotalEnergiesCAFCL group! 👆
— Mamelodi Sundowns FC (@Masandawana) February 11, 2022
Mamelodi Sundowns (8' Zwane) 1️⃣➖0️⃣ Al Hilal #Sundowns #DownsLive #TotalEnergiesCAFCL pic.twitter.com/e2jCjImNHb
His replacement Thapelo Morena should have grabbed a second goal for the home team, but a well-timed tackle from Mohamed Ering ensured that Morena didn’t convert his effort from close-range.
From thereon, Mohamed Abdelrahaman continued to pile the pressure on Sundowns, but their defensive contingent stood firm.
Al Hilal continued to pile on the pressure in the second half, but the Sundowns’ defence repelled the danger early on, protecting Denis Onyango, who was hardly tested since the start.
Despite being on the back foot, Lyle Lakay nearly doubled Sundowns’ lead with his trademark set-piece execution, but Eshrein tipped the goal-bound shot over the crossbar.
In the end, Sundowns reigned supreme to go top of Group A.
@mihlalibaleka