Mamelodi Sundowns will aim to maintain their incredible start to the season as they face Burundian side Bumamuru in the first leg match of the second preliminary round of this year’s CAF Champions League.
Bafana Ba Style has played eight matches across all competitions this season, recording seven wins and a draw, while scoring 15 goals in the process. The only match that Downs failed to win since the season began was the 1-1 semifinal draw against Kaizer Chiefs in the MTN Cup first leg.
Bumamuru advanced smoothly through the first preliminary round with an impressive 6-2 aggregate victory over Centre Sportif de Bendje from Gabon. Consequently, Coach Rulani Mokwena emphasizes the importance of not underestimating their upcoming opponents.
“They present a formidable challenge. Despite being a relatively new team, having been established for just nine years, their ambitions are pretty impressive. They clinched the league championship in Burundi last season and boast several players with significant international experience. Therefore, we do not underestimate them at all. We thoroughly understand their strengths and the wealth of experience they bring to the table, and as a result, we anticipate a very tough encounter,” Coach Rulani stated.
With several important games on the horizon, the Masandawana coach expressed his determination to field a strong team on Friday. He said, “It is imperative that we operate at full strength. We have several key players returning from injury and their integration into the team is crucial. Additionally, we aim to score goals to make things easier in the return leg, as reaching the group stages of this prestigious competition is of utmost importance to us. Moreover, our objective is also to complete the game without any injuries, given our busy schedule ahead. We must be fully prepared to ensure we achieve the desired result.”
Coach Mokwena also provided an overall assessment of the playing surface, stating, “Playing on astroturf is a little bit different, as it has its pros and cons with the potential pressure it places on the joints and the risk of muscular injuries. However, the surface also allows for an increased speed of the game, which suits us, and we can play with intensity and tempo. We are looking forward to adapting to the conditions in Tanzania.”
Last year, Sundowns crashed out in the semi-finals of the prestigious competition after drawing 2-2 with Wydad AC on aggregate, as the Moroccans reached the final on away goals.
The clash between Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies and Bumamuru will take place on Friday, September 15th, at the Azam Complex Stadium in Tanzania. The kick-off is scheduled for 15:00.
Job well done, let’s finish them off here at home. I’m happy Shalu is back & he scored. Riberio is fine find for sure. Let’s do the same on Wednesday.
Good results and good though I thought we have Morena and Maseko game time as well to stretch their mussels after a long lay off!!
Good results against soweto giants. I would like to withdraw my statement about Boutil the guy is a complete professional footballer. He did exceptional well in Saturday in the same position where he was totally exposed in first leg semi final by Dupreez, Moodi . But he improved at lot I salute the technical team for job well done