PRETORIA – The Brazilians, with the help of a real Brazilian in Ricardo Nascimento, proved that they are the true Kings of Africa by beating five-time African champions TP Mazembe to win the Caf Super Cup.
Sundowns left it till late in a match they threw everything at Mazembe, but couldn’t break them down as Masandawana secured a 1-0 victory.
It took a rash tackle from Issama Mpeto on Hlompho Kekana for Sundowns to finally break the deadlock.
Nascimento, who had an offish day, stepped up and converted from the spot with a composed finish in a match that was a royal affair.
The aim was to find the undisputed champions of Africa between the two sides that conquered the continent last year after Sundowns won the Caf Champions League and Mazembe the Caf Confederations Cup.
The three players short-listed for the Caf Footballer of the Year based in Africa – Denis Onyango, Khama Billiat and Rainford Kalaba – were all on the pitch.
The winner of that award, Onyango, had to quickly show why he scooped that gong after Ben Malango broke free.
Nascimento played an offside trap that Tebogo Langerman didn’t read, and Onyango had to put off Malango with his large frame, parrying the shot to the post before Malango fluffed the rebound.
@Masandawana after their #CAFSuperCup triumph against @TPMazembe @extrastrongsa @IOLsport pic.twitter.com/ygpfWkfSbB
— Mohau Ramashidja (@Mohau_Ra) February 18, 2017
This was like watching a heavyweight bout. Sundowns threw a lot of punches, but none of them connected. A lot of them were terribly wayward, but they pushed Mazembe back. Those punches came from featherweights in Percy Tau and Khama Billiat.
The Democratic Republic of Congo giants waited for the Brazilians to drop their guard as they looked to hit them with a sucker punch.
Mazembe were deadly on the break, using their speed to trouble the slow central-defence pairing of Nascimento and Wayne Arendse. For the better part of this game, it was Sundowns’ attack against Mazembe’s defence.
When Gbohouo was called into action, after Sundowns breached his defence with their good passing game, he was quick off his line to snuff the danger.
He produced a brilliant save to deny Anthony Laffor’s goal-bound shot. The Liberian had done well to create space for himself before unleashing his shot.
The crowd enjoyed the action, with a decent turnout that saw the lower parts of the grandstand and the far stand packed.
TP Mazembe goalkeeper Sylvain Gbohouo comes out to smother the ball ahead of Sundowns star Percy Tau. Photo: Sydney Mahlangu, BackpagePix
But the seats behind each goal were unoccupied, with the space cordoned off. That’s where the trouble started last week, when angry Orlando Pirates’ fans stormed the field from there, overwhelming the security guards.
The security personnel were on high alert on Saturday night, quick to respond when a Mazembe fan invaded the pitch to greet his countryman as they were warming up.
But before they could get him out, he ran rings around the security guards, making some fall with his fancy footwork. They eventually overpowered him with their force. That pitch invader was a lot like Sundowns’ attack – fast, nimble and with good footwork, but it lacked power.
The coach chats to us after racking up another trophy. #Sundowns #CAFSuperCup pic.twitter.com/qJNibHn4jp
— Mamelodi Sundowns FC (@Masandawana) February 18, 2017
That’s why coach Pitso Mosimane needs to get a powerful target man for the group stage of their continental sojourn.
This match gave these two clubs a good exercise before they start their Champions League campaign next month, because they got a bye in the preliminary round.
Mazembe will play either Lioli of Lesotho or Zimbabwe’s CAPS United in the last round before the group stage, while Sundowns will face the winner between Kampala Capital City Authority of Uganda and Clube Desportivo Primeiro de Agosto of Angola.