Mamelodi Sundowns have booked the semifinal spot in the CAF Champions League following the 0-0 (1-0 on aggregate) against Esperance Sportive de Tunis on Tuesday night at Stade Olympique Hammadi Agrebi.
The match promised to be an exciting one and it delivered. From the moment the kick-off whistle was blown, both sides showed a sense of urgency, looking to open the floodgates very early in the game. A big chance inside two minutes came from the home side but luckily, captain Ronwen Williams managed to smack the dangerous ball away.
End-to-end football was being played but eventually, Downs snatched possession and played the game at their own tempo but were just struggling to get it right in front of goals. While on the other end of the half, Divine Lunga stood his ground and was denying the Esperance attacking squad to even sniff the danger area.
Another big opportunity in front of the goal threatened the Downs’s defense but luckily, after a cross made by Esperance, Khuliso Mudau came to the rescue and made an excellent touch to clear the ball away.
In the last few minutes of the opening half, the visitors threatened the Esperance defense. Lucas Ribeiro’s counterattack efforts saw him winning the ball but his shot went slightly wide. Marcelo Allende from range, also looked to be the one to break the deadlock but his effort rattled the crossbar. The two sides went to the break goalless.
The hosts kicked off the second stanza with real intent as they created a big scoring opportunity but Williams read the danger on time and swept the ball away. Masandawana was quick with the retaliation through Ribeiro’s quick feet that went past the Esperance rearguard. He fired a shot but was cushioned by the goalkeeper.
In the final stages of regulation time in the second half, Shalulile came close to opening the floodgates with a beautiful pass from Iqraam Rayners but the shot fired was smacked away by the goalkeeper.
Nine minutes was added to play and Bafana Ba Style held on to the 1-0 aggregate in what was a physically demanding encounter. They will now shift their focus back to the Nedbank Cup for the semifinal which is to take place on Sunday night against Kaizer Chiefs.
How we lined up: Williams ©, Mudau, Kekana, Suarez, Lunga, Allende, Mokoena, Adams, Shalulile, Sales, Ribeiro.
Subs: Onyango, Modiba, Khoza, Tiwani, Mdunyelwa, Aubaas, Esquivel, Matthews, Rayners.
Well done boyz. You fought until the end. The team was just outstanding, they were prepared to die on the field for the team. We need to find a solution to our central defence problems though. Esperance were not a real threat at all, but we nearly messed it up at the back. I just hope next time we play to comfortably win our games at home.
Played like real warriors,fought for every ball,that was the spirit needed to see us through to the next round.We need to be cautiously ruthless at home.You represented us yellow nation and the country as a whole very well.This is a squeaky bum time,no pretty football you just grind out results and proceed to the next round.Lastly i would like to commend Esperance and their supporters for a spot less game,i expected their players to do dirty ticks to try to buy a referee or disrupt us,there no diving nor fighting our players for that ,i salute them.
Our tactical awareness has improved tremendously,we know when to keep possession of the ball,we know when to be defensive,we know when to attack,our game plan was a masterclass by our technical team…….and lastly, without singling out any individuals,I think Allende is in a class of his own,whoever scouted him knows his story.WHAT A PLAYER!!!!!
Congrats to everyone who contributed to our win to the CCL semi final, all players played well however we still need to scout speedy central defenders because when we press high that is where we are exposed, Ronza came up several times to clean every mess.The scouts are failing us in securing us such central defenders.The current ones are playing well under the cercumstances we cant blame them, but we need to always adjust our game to suit them.
I think Keagan Johannes can do very well in that central defence position as he’s speedy, but unfortunately he’s only been given chances in other positions and not his central defence position. He was so bad playing in the right back position that he was never given another chance thereafter. Suarez would be more suitable playing as a N0. 4 as he’s a ball-playing defender and he likes going up, but unfortunately I’m just a supporter and not a coach.