CAF Champions League

Sundowns claim first win in Group A

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Mamelodi Sundowns secured their first win in the Caf Champions League group stages after claiming a 2-1 victory over Wydad Casablanca at the Lucas Moripe Stadium on Saturday evening, writes DYLAN APPOLIS.

The Brazilians’ group stages got off to a slow start after suffering a 2-1 defeat to Lobi Stars in Enugu last weekend.

Meanwhile, the Tunisian side managed to overcome ASEC Mimosas by securing a comfortable 5-2 victory in their group stage opener last weekend.

The two sides have met four times before, with Wydad claiming two wins to Sundowns one, while the other game ended in a draw.

The home side got off to a great start and opened their scoring as early as the eighth minute when Themba Zwane fired his half-volley past Wydad goalkeeper Ahmed Tagnaouti.

Mosa Lebusa should have doubled his side’s lead on the half-hour mark, but his goal-bound header was acrobatically saved by Tagnaouti.

Wydad eventually levelled matters 10 minutes before the break when Mohamed Nahiri unleashed a venomous strike to beat Dennis Onyango from outside the box, 1-1.

The game went into the half-time interval locked at 1-1.

The home side picked up where they left off in the first half and came out the better side in the second stanza.

Sundowns had a great chance to make it 2-0 moments later after Hlompho Kekana picked out Lebohang Maboe on the flank, who brought the ball down before whipping the ball into the area, but just short of reaching Anthony Laffor.

Pitso Mosimane’s men began to dominate proceedings after 56 minutes of play, with Zwane and Thapelo Morena teaming up well to slice through the Wydad defence before creating a opportunity for Morena, who ultimately blazed his effort over the target.

Sundowns persistence paid off and they regained the lead in the 64th minute when Zwane pulled the trigger from range to find the net after a poor clearance from the Wydad defence.

The home team kept the pressure on and continued to push forward in search of more goals with 20 minutes left to play.

With 10 minutes left to play, Mosimane made his first change of the game when he introduced Lyle Lakay, who came in to replace Laffor, before also withdrawing Gaston Sirino seven minutes later and bringing on Motjeka Madisha.

Onyango came to his side’s rescue late in stoppage time when he made a finger-tip save to clear the ball to safety after a tricky ball was floated into the area.

However, Sundowns managed to hold on to their lead over Wydad until the final whistle to claim all three points at the Lucas Moripe Stadium.