A second half goal by Iqraam Rayners has handed coach Miguel Cardoso his first victory as a Brazilian, following a 1-0 scoreline over Raja Casablanca on Sunday afternoon at a packed Loftus Versfeld.
The unity that was called for by the head coach was evident on the pitch as we saw the Brazilians dominating but the game remained cagey, especially in the first stanza with both sides looking to break the deadlock. It is the hosts who pulled the first threat through Lucas Ribeiro who charged his way to the area but was tackled by the visitors to deny him a goal. Ribeiro forced more saves from the Raja Casablanca goalkeeper in the opening stanza.
The visitors had moments too, but their chances were not precise. With the titanic tussle going on between the two sides, no goals were seen as they headed to the break.
As soon as the second half kicked off, coach Miguel introduced Kutlwano Letlhaku who replaced Sphelele Mkhulise. Letlhaku had an immediate impact as he tried to open the scoring but his opportunity went sightly over the bar.
On the 65th minute, the only goal of the match finally came through Rayners. It started with Ronwen Williams who set up Letlhaku well on the right. Letlhaku then made a defence-splitting pass to Rayners who found space to shoot past the goalkeeper, putting his side in the lead.
Masandawana became more aggressive as they looked to extend their lead with more goals. Even with the seven minutes of added time, the scoreline remained 1-0, handing Downs their first victory in the group stages.
