Mamelodi Sundowns down Al Hilal in CAF Champions League with Themba Zwane strike

Johannesburg - A solitary goal from Themba Zwane ensured that Mamelodi Sundowns began their CAF Champions League group stage campaign on a high note as they beat Al Hilal 1-0 at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg, on a cool Friday night.

After an impressive outing in the first half of the season, where they won the MTN8 and finished at the top of the Premiership standings, Sundowns picked up where they left off in the restart, winning the first two matches in domestic football.

But with those matches came in the Nedbank Cup last 32 against Richards Bay and in the league against Chippa United, this Champions League outing was going to test their character considering the opponents and logistics involved.

The Brazilians had to move their match to Rustenburg after their stadiums, Loftus Versfeld, Lucas Masterpieces Moripe and Tuks failed the evaluation process from CAF, while Al Hilal had been camping in Cape Town for a few weeks.

Moreover, Al Hilal were not going to be walkovers, given the fact that they boast Gerard Phiri and Abdul Ajugun, who were playing in the local top-flight earlier this season, in the line-up. The duo were at Baroka and Cape Town City.

Sundowns, after winning those back-to-back matches, were keen to transfer momentum to the continental showdown. So much so that their technical team didn’t hold back, as Peter Shalulile was paired with Pavol Safranko upfront.

There was also a place for want-away attacker Gaston Sirino in the starting line-up as he replaced Surprise Ralani, the new signing from Cape Town City FC.

But without breaking much of a sweat, the Brazilians found themselves in the driving seat as early as the eighth minute. A costly back-pass from Walieldin Khedr at the back found an