Sundowns narrowly beat Al-Ahly to set up intriguing AFL second leg in Cairo

PRETORIA. - Mamelodi Sundowns put one toe in the final of the African Football League (AFL) with their 1-0 win over Al-Ahly at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Sunday afternoon. It's one toe, and not the whole foot because when the Red Devils are in Cairo – they are a different animal.

This win by Sundowns, via Thapelo Maseko's goal, continued an interesting trend of the Egyptians who have now travelled to South Africa 15 times and have never won a contest here. The catch with that statistic is that as the only time they were outplayed in their own backyard – with Orlando Pirates' 3-0 win in the group stage of the 2013 CAF Champions League.

Sundowns recorded their first win over Al-Ahly in Egypt last year when Thapelo Morena's strike helped them to a 1-0 victory, but that was a close match. Before that win, Sundowns had made five trips to face Al-Ahly in Egypt, losing three matches and drawing the other two.

For Sundowns to reach the final, they must try to beat Al-Ahly in Cairo on Wednesday (kick-off is at 20:00 SA time) because going there for a draw would be suicidal.

While these two teams are fiercely competitive on the pitch, off the pitch, there is mutual respect and admiration for what both teams have been able to achieve. Just as it has been in the past, this was a football contest between two tactically astute and disciplined teams.

There were no handbags and confrontations, as is the case when Sundowns play other North African teams. This was just two African powerhouses slugging it out for the honor of a new trophy they both want to be the first to get their hands on.

The mutual respect and shared interests were evident in the number of Palestinian flags that flew at the stadium. A section of South Africans sympathizes