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Friday, April 5, 2024

Sundowns sneak into Champions League semi-finals after insipid performance against Young Africans

PRETORIA,  South Africa 

Mamelodi Sundowns survived a major scare to advance to the semi-finals of the CAF Champions League, getting the better of Young Africans in a match where the Brazilians were not at their best. 

Ronwen Williams' brilliance, and a bit of luck helped Sundowns beat Yanga 3-2 in penalties at Loftus Versfeld Stadium, after both teams couldn't find the back of the net over two legs that started in Dar es Salam on Saturday and ended in Pretoria on Friday evening. 

Aziz Ki, however, can claim to have found the back of the net with an audacious strike just before the hour mark.

Television replays showed that the ball crossed the line, but referee Dahana Beida – with the guidance of the video assistant referee – ruled that the ball didn't cross the back of the net, much to the frustration of the Tanzanians. 

Beida didn't even bother to check the ball for himself, with the message relayed to him via his earpiece.

That goal shook Sundowns' tothe core, with the Brazilians far from their best against an organised and resolute Young Africans. But in the end, Sundowns' experience came to the fore – with the Tshwane side holding their nerves in the shootout. While Sundowns' were strong mentally, Ki crumbled.

The Burkina Faso international missed the second penalty, and his whole world came crushing down. He collapsed to the floor, and spent the rest of the shootouts crying and on the floor – even when his teammates had recovered with the score 1-1 after both teams took two penalties. 

While the performance is something that Sundowns wouldn't want to see again, but the mental fortitude they showed in this match could play a key role in their quest to win the Champions League for the first time since 2016. 

The win did help the club overcome their quarter-finals curse. Before this match, Sundowns had been eliminated in the last eight four times in their last six attempts. 

Sundowns' supporters heeded the call from coach Rhulani Mokwena to come in their numbers, play with the team and create an electric atmosphere. But they didn't follow Mokwena's instructions to the latter, after the Brazilians' coach implored the supporters to not suffer when the team is also suffering – but instead lift them up. 

"Being at home is not just about the comfort of being at home, it's actually about the supporters making the stadium a cathedral…They've got to worship the team, support the team and energise the team," Mokwena said on Thursday. 

But on Friday, there were a few atheists clad in the canary yellow of Sundowns. While the supporters defied the elements, on a cold Pretoria evening after heavy downpours during the day, to come in their numbers, when the club struggled – they couldn't hide their frustrations. 

The supporters didn't respond to numerous calls to rally behind the team after Ki stunned them to silence. 

The longer the match stayed goalless, the more frustrated the home supporters became – at some point a section of them turned against their own players. 

Sundowns were not themselves, and they struggled to pick themselves up against a team that doesn't have the profile of African giants. What they do, however, have is a gigantic tenacity. Yanga didn't give Sundowns the respect that most teams give them. 

They harangued and harassed the Brazilians, smartly using their speed to trouble the hosts on the break.

Just like they did in the first leg, Yanga sat back and absorbed the pressure well. But their failure to find the back of the net proved to be the Tanzanian's undoing. 

Williams stepped into the penalties confident, with his profile and reputation now big after his heroics at the Africa Cup of Nations.

The Bafana Bafana keeper saved two penalties, and didn't need to do anything in Yanga's last penalty which hit the roof – taking Sundowns' supporters to cloud nine after going through the depths of hell for the better part of this game. 

Sundowns will now face either Esperance of Tunisia or Ivory Coast's Asec Mimosas in the 

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