Mamelodi Sundowns advanced to the CAF Champions League semi-finals after claiming a 3-2 win in a penalty shootout against Young Africans at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria.
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Sundowns defeated Young Africans of Tanzania 3-2 in a penalty shootout in Pretoria, following a score of 0-0 in both the first and second legs of the quarterfinal in Dar es Salaam the previous weekend.
Simba too had a poor night for Tanzania. They were eliminated 3-0 overall after losing 2-0 to Egypt’s Al Ahly, the reigning champions, in Cairo.
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On minute 47 for Ahly, Amr el Solia scored his first goal of the African season. After receiving an added-time penalty, Mahmoud Kahraba added a second.
Young Africans got within two wins, but Unimpressive Sundowns was lucky to get a matchup with either Esperance of Tunisia or ASEC Mimosas of Ivory Coast in the round of sixteen.
Two months ago, in an Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinal shootout triumph over Cape Verde in Ivory Coast, Williams saved four penalties for his team.
He once again demonstrated his ability to save shots during penalties by saving kicks from Dickson Job and Stephane Aziz Ki.
The South African team sighed in relief after Ibrahim Hamad’s fifth Young Africans penalty went over the bar with Sundowns leading 3-2 in the shootout.
Sundowns, the winners of the main African club league in 2016, had three successful penalty takers: Marcelo Allende of Chile, Lucas Ribeiro of Brazil, and Neo Maema of Brazil.
On a chilly autumn night, Sundowns controlled the majority of the possession in the rematch, but they lacked creativity in their attacks and seldom tested Malian custodian Djigui Diarra.
Young Africans got more daring and Burkina Faso winger Ki’s quickness provided a constant threat after a first half in which Sundowns managed just one attempt on goal.
After a fast drive from inside the area beat Williams and bounced off the underside of the bar on minute fifty-nine, Ki appeared to have given the east African team the lead.
The Mauritanian referee requested a VAR review, which determined that the ball had not crossed the goalline in its entirety, despite the Young Africans’ belief that it had.
Later, Ki took the creative role, as his cross gave Clement Mzize a fantastic opportunity to break the tie up close; but, with only Williams to beat, the substitute fired wide.
Thembinkosi Lorch had just Diarra to beat late in the first half, but his misplaced kick was cleared off the goalkeeper’s feet, giving Sundowns their best opportunity.
TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of the Congo will visit Petro Luanda of Angola on Saturday before ASEC plays Esperance in Abidjan. The first two legs finished goalless.
Photo by Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix
