Gutsy Downs do SA proud in Algeria

Asavela Mbekile of Sundowns and Lamri of Setif during the CAF Champions League match between Entente Setif and Mamelodi Sundowns in Setif on 18 June 2016 ©BackpagePix

Asavela Mbekile of Sundowns and Lamri of Setif during the CAF Champions League match between Entente Setif and Mamelodi Sundowns in Setif on 18 June 2016 ©BackpagePix

Published Jun 19, 2016

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Johannesburg – Two brilliant individual goals saw Mamelodi Sundowns overcoming hostile conditions in Algeria as they kicked off their CAF Champions League Group B campaign with a superb 2-0 away win over ES Setif on Saturday night.

It was a fantastic performance by the gutsy South African club, who defended courageously and then took the chances that came their way in clinical fashion.

The north Africans were to dominate the opening quarter of the game, Asavela Mbekile’s 25th minute cross the first time Sundowns got into their opponents’ box.

Up until then, the powerful Algerians had looked a constant threat, Downs on the backfoot as they found themselves up against a fired-up home team who were playing in front of a 25 000-capacity crowd at the Stade 8 May 1945, where flares in the stands and distracting laser beams were the norm on a tense evening.

Ismail Saadi, Setif’s exciting young 19-year-old attacker, was the hosts’ biggest threat thanks to his pace and movement. But apart from Saadi’s third-minute shot, which saw him shooting wide from a tight angle from about 3 metres out, the Sundowns goal did not come under too much threat.

But the South African side’s opener still arrived very much out of the blue, coming from an unlikely source as Tiyani Mabunda netted his first goal for the club in spectacular style.

The former Black Leopards midfielder, who has very much been a fringe player for the Pretoria club, won the ball about 13 metres out in a central position, driving forward several metres before picking out the top corner with a left-footed screamer on 32 minutes.

Sundowns could have doubled their lead just two minutes later when Khama Billiat raced onto a long ball down the right, but he miscued his half-volley slightly and the effort went wide.

Setif came out firing after the break, the South Africans once more pinned into their own box as they faced wave after wave home attacks.

But once more they not only survived, but found the net, Billiat underlining just why he was the PSL’s best player last season when he skipped past two defenders on a breathtaking run before coolly finishing at the near post on 63 minutes.

Moments later, the 2014 Champions League winners missed a great chance to pull a goal back – with the goal at his mercy, Akram Djahnit skied his shot from inside the box over the bar.

The Algerians failed to threaten Sundowns in the final 20 minutes of the game, causing frustration in the stands. This boiled over in added time, causing the end of the game to be delayed by nearly 10 minutes while the players waited in the safety of the dugout for the fans to calm down before the referee blew the final whistle.

– African News Agency

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