Mamelodi Sundowns will lock horns with Angolese giants, Petro Atlético de Luanda in the quarterfinals of the CAF Champions League.
A confirmation of the final 8 encounters was presented in a live draw held at CAF headquarters in Cairo, Egypt on Tuesday afternoon and Coach Rulani Mokwena was on hand to provide a reaction to the draw:
“Petro are a very good side with good Champions League experience, they’ve been here for three seasons in a row. It’s their first time in the quarter-finals but what we’ve seen in the group is that they are a very capable team, they’ve scored nine and conceded eight. To accumulate 11 points in a difficult group for them means they are a very good team and they are sitting on top of the log in Angola – with 51 points from 21 games – and currently are the reigning Cup champions.”
“Prior to getting there we still have some important matches in the domestic league and an important Nedbank cup game.”
The Angolan team qualified for the next round of this continental competition after finishing off in second place in Group D with 11 points. The Brazilians were drawn in the last quarter final clash against the Group D runners-up. The two sides have met before in the Champions League, with mixed results including a home win for Downs as well as a gruelling away draw, Mokwena reflected on whether these past encounters would influence the preparations for the upcoming tie:
“[We have been in the same group before] but this is the Champions League, past results count for absolutely nothing, history speaks about what has happened, the future speaks to what could happen. Ours is just to continue to focus on the work that we do and try to play the game they way it is supposed to be played. They have a couple of players [that played the last time we met] and Sundowns also has a few that played [back then]. The reality is that the game is always changing every year and the Champions League gets harder and harder to play in, we just have to put all of our focus and energy into this tie.”
Petro of Luanda will host the first leg of the quarter final tie against the Bafana Ba Style in Angola, before the return leg at home for the Tshwane giants. Much has been made of the shorter travel distance between South Africa and Angola, which pales in comparison to the group stage journeys that saw Masadawana have a two-week stint in Egypt as well and a quick turnaround in Sudan:
“We’ll still do our research but the distance and proximity allows for a shorter flight and from a physiological perspective that assists the players. Of course with easier travel it becomes easier to work on match specific preparation, with regards to work on and off the pitch – that’s where the big advantage is.”
The winners of the match will face the winner of the clash between Algeria’s CR Belouizdad and Morocco’s Wydad AC in the semi-finals.
CAF Confederation Cup QF Draw
QF1: Al Ahly vs Raja Cassablanca
QF2: ES Setif vs E.S.T
QF3: CR Belouizdad vs Wydad
QF4: Atletico Petro vs Mamelodi Sundowns
Semifinals
SF1: Winner QF2 vs Winner QF1
SF2: Winner QF3 vs Winner QF4
