Caf CL review: Sundowns back on track

Mamelodi Sundowns breathed life into their faltering Caf Champions League campaign with a 2-1 win over AS Togo-Port that lifted them off the floor of Group C.

Beaten 1-0 when the teams met 10 days earlier, the South African powerhouse bounced back to record their first victory in four matches.

Gaston Sirino and Sibusiso Vilakazi set the platform by putting the hosts two clear inside the opening 15 minutes and they retained that lead until Kokou Kloukpo halved the deficit in the 87th minute.

READ: Sundowns beat Togo-Port to register first CCL win

Sundowns, champions in 2016, ultimately did enough to secure a result that moves them level on five points with Horoya and Wydad Casablanca, with Togo-Port two points off the pace.

The picture is clearer in Group D, where Etoile du Sahel booked their place in the quarter-finals by easing past Mbabane Swallows 2-0, courtesy of goals from Maher Hannachi and Slim Ben Belgacem.

Swallows’ hopes of advancing now rest on snatching second back from Primeiro de Agosto, who sensationally scored two stoppage-time to goals to dramatically edge winless Zesco United 2-1.

The visitors were on course for a vital three points when John Ching’andu gave them a surprise 67th-minute lead, only for Angola international Geraldo to draw Primeiro level in the final minute of normal time.

And they incredibly snatched three points in the eighth minute of added time, Bobo Ungenda the hero with a header that put his side in pole position to advance.

Meanwhile, in Friday’s other match, Difaa El Jadidi and ES Setif fought out a 1-1 draw that ensured TP Mazembe and MC Alger remain unmoved in Group B’s top two positions.

Photo: Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix