Rivaldo Coetzee made his long-awaited debut while Jeremy Brockie and Themba Zwane found the back of the net as Mamelodi Sundowns ran out 2-0 victors in their Caf Champions League tie against Leones Vegetarianos, writes MARSHALL GOUTS.
Pitso Mosimane’s side went into the clash on the back of a 0-0 draw against title-contenders Orlando Pirates in the Absa Premiership.
Masandawana, who won the prestigious title in 2016, will be keen to avenge their elimination from the tournament in the last edition at the group stage of the continental cup.
Mosimane made a number of changes to his side that played to a stalemate against Pirates, most notably handing defender Rivaldo Coetzee his first-team debut more than a year after he signed a mega-deal from Ajax Cape Town.
The visitors started the brighter of the two sides and looked particularly dominant in midfield, with the trio of Andile Jali, Hlompho Kekana and Lebogang Maboe bossing the show early on.
Sundowns didn’t take too long to get on to the scoresheet with Jeremy Brockie opening his Caf account in the tenth minute following a well-struck first time volley from Musa Lebusa’s ball into the area.
Vegetarianos were left shell-shocked by Sundowns’ early high tempo and offered little in resistance to Masandawana’s dominance.
Debutant Coetzee enjoyed a lively start to his debut as he made a fine tackle to deny what looked like a goalbound effort from the home side.
Brockie almost added another minutes later, but his effort cannoned off the crossbar following an inch-perfect ball by Gaston Sirino.
It was one-way traffic for much of the first half, with Themba Zwane, Sirino and Brockie all coming close to finding the back of the net.
Sundowns emerged from the starting blocks in similar vein to that of the first, but were let down by some poor finishing in the final third.
Mosimane signalled his intent for more goals as he introduced Jose Ali Meza for Sirino.
Despite all their dominance, Mosimane’s side struggled to double their advantage and became increasingly frustrated with their inability to score.
Zwane finally doubled his side’s lead in the 77th minute when he latched on to a clever pass by Maboe before slotting home.
Mosimane brought on Lyle Lakay and Oupa Manyisa in the final minutes of the game to wind the clock down as Sundowns ran out comfortable 2-0 victors.
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