CASABLANCA, Morocco
An own goal from Rivaldo Coetzee and a superb late strike by Anas Serrhat gave the Moroccan giants the advantage to take into next week's second leg decider.
Sundowns were punished for
defensive lapses but know an early goal in the second leg could swing the tie
back in their favour.
Coetzee turned an attempted
clearance into his own net on 43 minutes as Montassar Lahtimi's dangerous cross
caused chaos in the Sundowns defence.
Sundowns fought back in the
second half when Abdelmonem Boutouil converted a 74th minute penalty after
Yahya Jebran's handball.
But Wydad swiftly restored
their lead as Serrhat rifled an unstoppable long-range drive beyond Ronwen
Williams.
The home side nearly extended
their lead but Hamdou Elhouni's curling injury-time effort cannoned off the
crossbar.
It means Wydad will defend a
2-1 aggregate lead in front of over 40,000 fans at Sundowns' Loftus Versfeld
Stadium next Sunday.
The South Africans will take
encouragement from previous wins against Al Ahly and Petro Atletico en route to
the final.
But Wydad are now firmly in
the driving seat to be crowned the first ever AFL champions on Moroccan soil
next week with their first leg victory.
Wydad is a dead horse! Period
ReplyDelete