CAF Champions League

Sundowns knocked out of Caf CL

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Achraf Dari of Wydad Athletic Club challenged by Hlompho Kekana of Mamelodi Sundowns

Mamelodi Sundowns’ Caf Champions League journey is over after they were held to a 0-0 draw by Wydad Casablanca in their semi-final second leg on Saturday afternoon.

Sundowns came into the game trailing 2-1 on aggregate, and knew that they would have to break down what would be a resolute Wydad defence.

The Brazilians started on the front foot and dominated the possession early on, with Gaston Sirino in particular receiving some rough treatment from the visitors.

It was the North Africans, though, who had the first real effort on goal as Dennis Onyango produced a top save to keep his clean sheet intact.

It was proving to be a tight and tactical affair with chances proving hard to come by for both sides.

The home side, however, came close to opening from a set-piece as Sirino found Anele Ngconcga, but the wing back’s header was to the side of the target.

0-0 at the break with the away side happy to sit back and defend their aggregate lead.

Mosimane’s charges knew that they would need to up the tempo in the second half if they wished to find the breakthrough, but they were again met by a determined and disciplined Wydad side.

The visitors were the first to have a sniff at goal as Mosa Lebusa produced a stunning block to deny Babatunde who’s shot on the spin looked goal-bound.

Mosimane then turned to the substitutes’ bench, Phakamani Mahlambi replacing Tiyani Mabunda with 20 minutes to go as Downs looked to push forward in search of a goal.

Wydad remained a threat on the counter, with Onyango forced into a decisive block with 11 minutes to go.

Sundowns threw all they had at the Moroccans, but just couldn’t find the breakthrough as the game ended 0-0, a result that sees the North Africans progress, courtesy of their 2-1 aggregate advantage.