Staff Reporter.
Mamelodi Sundowns and AS Maniema Union played to a 2-2 draw in the first leg of their CAF Champions League second preliminary round tie.
Sundowns handed starts to Brian Onyango, Musa Lebusa in the absence of Rushine De Reuck and Mothobi Mvala.
Themba Zwane gave Sundowns an early lead in the ninth minute with his third goal of the season across all competitions.
However, the Brazilians were unable to hold onto the lead going into the half-time break, as Maniema found the equaliser just before the interval.
Sundowns made a double change by withdrawing strikers Thabiso Kutumela and Pavol Safranko for Sibusiso Vilakazi and Sphelele Mkhulise.
The tactical change seemingly paid off , as Zwane restored their lead in the last five minutes to complete his brace.
However, the Brazilians succumbed to another late goal, as Maniema snatched the equaliser in the last minute although Sundowns do have two away goals to take into the second leg next week.
Meanwhile Côte d’Ivoire’s Asec Mimosas, Sudan’s Al Merrikh and Angolan side GD Sagrada picked huge wins in their CAF Champions League second preliminary round first leg ties on Saturday.
Asec and Sagrada each won 3-1 while Merrikh were 3-0 winners.
Asec beat Algeria’s CR Belouizdad while Sagrada beat eSwatini’s Royal Leopards. Merrikh thrashed Zambia’s Zanaco 3-0.
Elsewhere, 2020 losing finalists Zamalek SC won 1-0 in Nairobi, with Guinean side Horoya AC also picking an away victory with a 1-0 win over Stade Malien.
Defending champions Al Ahly played to a 1-1 draw away from home against Niger’s US Gendarmerie.
The Red Devils got many chances to seal the deal but were unable to take advantage of them and will therefore have impose themselves at home in the second leg.
“We came here to win. The draw is not the best result, but we still have a game in Cairo to book our ticket to the group stage and continue our journey towards our third straight title in the competition,” Al Ahly assistant coach, Sami Komsan told Al Ahly’s official website.
“We wanted to win but in the end, it is a good result. We could have won the game if we converted the chances into goals. We were also denied a clear penalty in the second half.
“We are not making excuses, but we faced a lot of difficult circumstances that led to tonight’s draw. We missed many key players and we did not have many options in the front line.
“Also, the hot weather and the bad condition of the pitch affected our performance.
“Our performance will be much better in the next games as we will be able to rely on the injured players and the new signings,” he concluded.
Al Ahly will host USGN in the second leg next Saturday, October 23 in the Al Ahly We Al Salam stadium. They will need to win by any result in order to secure their spot in the group stage.