Shalulile's sole strike seals Downs' quarterfinal spot and double over Al-Ahly

Mamelodi Sundowns not only completed a memorable CAF Champions League double over Egyptian super club Al-Ahly when they beat them 1-0, but they also qualified for the quarterfinal stage through their success on Saturday.

Playing at the unusual venue of FNB Stadium with their normal stadia of Lucas Masterpieces Moripe not being fit for CAF games while Loftus Versfeld's freshly renovated dressing rooms are being used by the Bulls, Sundowns actually outplayed the defending champions.

Peter Shalulile's 23rd-minute goal was enough to separate the sides as Sundowns moved to 10 points while Al-Ahly, Al-Merrikh and Al-Hilal all remain on four points.

Al-Hilal is Sundowns' next opponent on 19 March and they would have looked on with glee after beating Al-Merrikh on Friday to keep their tournament hopes alive.

With a crowd of 2000 that sounded far more raucous than their tiny number in the cavernous calabash, they beat their drums and sang to their heart's delight.

While Al-Ahly is accustomed to intimidating continental scenarios, they've also brought battle-hardened troops to cope with those conditions.

They still have a classy contingent under Pitso Mosimane, but they’re starting to show the strain of non-stop league, continental and cross-continental football.

On the other hand, Sundowns' small but noisy "Yellow Wall" provided an unnervingly constant cacophony that has been absent at South African stadiums for nearly two years now.

The energy the "Yellow Wall" brought to the ground was also unnecessary when they booed former Golden Boy Percy Tau when he had the ball.

A collective defensive effort from Mamelodi Sundowns kept him and Al-Ahly quiet for the better part of the first half.

In that stanza, all the best chances, despite Bamlak