Durban - Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies suffered an embarrassing 4-0 thumping at the hands of Moroccan side ASFAR Club who were crowned as the Champions of the CAF Women's Champions League.
The Brazilians Ladies received two red cards in the match on their way to losing their first-ever match in CAF competitions.
Sundowns coach Jerry Tshabala would've been concerned with his team in the opening exchanges as the team exhibited some naive tendencies.
The host's colourful start was rewarded as clumsy defending in the Sundowns penalty area saw captain Zanele Nhlapho foul ASFAR right-back Zineb Redouani, leaving the referee with no choice but to point to the spot.
FULL TIME SCORES for the second edition of the #CAFWCLFINAL at Stade Moulay Abdellah,Rabat.
13’
53’
86’
90’+#CAFWCLFINAL #SundownsLadies #EmpoweringOurGame pic.twitter.com/fdc19uNXbG
Fatima Tagnaout, who has been the Moroccan side's stand-out player throughout the tournament stepped and fired the penalty past Andile Dlamini who had done well to guess the right side.
The defending champions engaged in reckless challenges as their night went from bad to worse when they went a woman down in the 31st minute, Rhonda Mulaudzi getting her marching orders.
ASFAR ironically showed the experience of seasoned campaigners, a trait some would have associated with Sundowns and after a decent first half. But the they doubled their advantage in the 53rd minute against a 9-woman Sundowns.
A clever free-kick routine from the training ground was emphatically blasted into the back of the net by Ibtissam Jraidi, taking the game away from the favourites Sundowns.
🇲🇦 The moment you all have been waiting for! 🏆@ASFAR_Officiel | #CAFWCL | #EmpoweringOurGame pic.twitter.com/dBRO7ufE0g
— #CAFWCL (@CAFwomen) November 13, 2022
The experienced forward added two more goals to seal her hat-trick in the dying minutes of the game and handed Sundowns Ladies their first-ever defeat in the competition.
It was always going be a daunting task for the travelling Brazilian Ladies as they attempted to claim a second CAF Champions League crown in a row at the home of their final opponents.
Just as the visitors sought a way back into the match, they suffered another heavy blow as Nhlapho once more was late in a tackle and got Sundowns' second red card of the match, leaving last year's winners with little chance of turning the result around.