Mamelodi Sundowns goalkeeper Kennedy Mweene is relishing the chance to have another crack at Al Ahly when the two sides square off in their Caf Champions League Group A encounter on Saturday.
Thr Brazilians are hoping to do the double over the Egyptian giants after they secured a narrow 1-0 victory over them in the first leg at the Cairo International Stadium on 26 February.
Sundowns will now welcome Pitso Mosimane’s side to the FNB Stadium when they square off in the return leg of the group stages fixture on matchday four.
The Tshwane giants come into this encounter sitting at the top of Group A with seven points from their first three matches in the group, while Ahly are in second place on the table – level on four points with third placed Al-Merrikh.
“Our first game was also played away, we played the match in Rustenburg and there’s nothing that we can do, we have to go and play at the FNB Stadium. At the end of the day we are playing at home, we are used to playing at FNB, I think it’s about the country at the moment and not about the [Premier Soccer League] PSL, I think we are okay with it and we are looking forward to the game on Saturday,” Mweene told his club’s official website.
“For us we are in a good space, that’s what we wanted to do – to collect points as soon as possible. We still have pressure on us but it’s not as much as the other teams that are following us, we must continue winning and maintain our number one spot. Our coaches have done a lot with us, we take this game as seriously as we can because we know we just have to do our best whether they have rested or not, we are not taking this game lightly.
“One thing we must not take advantage of is thinking that because we are at home and we have rested a bit while Al Ahly has been playing their games, I think that is the biggest mistake we can make. We just have to work extra hard because we know that whether they’ve rested or not they will come at us and we just have to be prepared.
“One thing you have to do is to remain positive, you must train smart especially when you are at my age. It all goes back to training, the kind of training we do with coach Wendell [Robinson]. I’m not that old so I think one just has to look after themselves and to see what you put in your system, it’s always looking after yourself, you can not cheat at football at the end of the day.”