Mamelodi Sundowns leave Tunisia with a defeat following a 1-0 loss against ES Tunis in the first round of the two-legged semi-finals of the CAF Champions League on Saturday evening at the Stade Olympique Hammadi Agrebi.
In what was a pulsating and exciting encounter, it was the Tunisian side that had the first strike to set the stadium on fire, but Ronwen Williams set himself up well for a great save, denying them an opener of their dreams. ES Tunis tried to play the ball over the top going wide but were mostly found by the away side.
With the game having had a sluggish start, it started to pick up and grow in stature, with Coach Rulani’s men doing a great job to get in possession in a game of few clear-cut chances.
Masandawana almost saw a goal through captain Themba Zwane who slotted it in the box but the offside flag was raised to deny them an away goal. Not so long, a threatening effort from the home side came in the danger box, seeing Marcelo Allende with an attempt to clear the ball away but it hit the crossbar. The rebound chance was headed away by Divine Lunga. Shortly before the halftime break, ES Tunis broke the deadlock after the ball went way past Williams and Allende who tried to run to clear out the line. The goal concluded the first half.
The second stanza granted the Brazilians an opportunity to find an equaliser but it proved to be difficult as their counterparts defended the ball. Masandawana came to life after Thembinkosi Lorch created a threatening opportunity but the shot was taken from a tight angle, seeing the ball pass the face of the box.
Coach Rulani’s men started to show as the fresh legs introduced in the dying stages of the match sparked something and created chances that could have seen them equalise. Another chance came from Lucas Ribeiro who looked to strike a serious shot but the ball found the goalkeeper. The second leg will see ES Tunis start with the upper hand when they meet on Friday evening at Loftus Versfeld.
This is how we lined up: Williams, Allende, Lorch, Modiba, Zwane ©, Aubaas, Kekana, Ribeiro, Mudau, Lunga, Mvala.