Staff Reporter.
Mamelodi Sundowns claimed a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Al Hilal Omdurman in their opening Caf Champions League Group A match on Friday night.
Themba Zwane scored the only goal of the encounter as the reigning PSL champions began their Group A campaign with an unconvincing victory over the Sudanese giants.
It took only eight minutes for Sundowns to break the deadlock after they pressed the Blue Wave and forced the visitors into committing a mistake in their own half.
Zwane pounced on to Walieldin Khedr’s poor back pass in Al Hilal’s half and the accomplished playmaker fired past onrushing goalkeeper Ali Abu Eshrein to hand Sundowns a 1-0 lead.
The Blue Wave then surged forward as they looked to level matters with Mohamed Abdelrahman looking lively for the visitors, but the away side was left vulnerable at the back.
Thapelo Morena, who had replaced an injured Gaston Sirino, was sent through on goal only to be denied a shooting chance by Mohamed Ahmed’s last-ditch tackle and Sundowns were leading a-1-0 at half-time.
The Blue Wave saw most of the ball after the restart, but the North African side was either let down by indecisiveness or poor finishing in front of goal without seriously testing keeper Denis Onyango.
Sundowns looked dangerous every time they pushed forward and they were awarded a free-kick in a promising area. Lyle Lakay stepped up and forced Abu Eshrein into a great save from the set-piece.
The momentum was with the visitors in the closing stages of the match as Ibrahim Mustapha forced Onyango into a low save. Zwane then made a crucial goal-line clearance from Khedr’s header which was goal-bound.
Sundowns were then able to contain Al Hilal in the dying minutes of the game and ultimately, the reigning PSL Premiership champions emerged 1-0 winners on the night.
The Brazillians will now take on Baroka FC in a PSL match on Monday, before taking on Sudanese side Al Merrikh in their second Group A match on February 19.