The fight continues for three South African clubs in the CAF inter-club competitions this season. That’s despite both Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns failing to win their first-leg semi-final home encounters this past weekend against Egyptian opposition Pyramids FC and Al Ahly, respectively.
The two South African clubs will have to dig deep in the second-leg fixtures in Cairo this coming weekend.
Meanwhile, debutants in the CAF Confederation Cup, Stellenbosch FC, will have to reverse a one-goal deficit when they host Simba SC of Tanzania in the second leg.
History was made this season with three South African clubs reaching the semifinals of the CAF inter-club competitions for the very first time. This season’s Champions League semifinal is a battle between northern and southern Africa.
The two South African clubs, Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates, defied all the odds to be in Africa’s premier club competition, but standing in the way of an all-South African final are two teams from Egypt.
Last season’s semifinalists Mamelodi Sundowns failed to score at home against defending champions Al Ahly of Egypt. The visitors were defensive in their approach, and Sundowns failed to break down their resolute defence. But Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso says they are capable of causing an upset at the Cairo International Stadium on Friday.
“I think everybody understood the positioning of Al Ahly on the pitch. It was a very tough one, four centre backs defending with a line of six most of the time, so it was very difficult to enter into the last third. Obviously, we tried different ways; we tried to find the spaces. We knew that it was going to be a match with too few opportunities, and we had to score out of them. We tried different ways; we tried to find spaces, but we didn’t. We were struggling, but I believe we can do the job in Cairo,“ says Cardoso.
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On the other hand, Pirates were not very convincing either in their home tie against debutants in the CAF Champions League semifinals, Pyramids FC of Egypt. Just like in the Sundowns game, the opponents had the ball in the back of the net on two occasions, but the goals did not count.
The first goal by danger man Fiston Mayele was ruled offside on the stroke of halftime, and the second goal late in the match was a clear handball.
Pirates defender Tapelo Xoki understands the daunting task awaiting Bucs at the 30 June Stadium in Cairo.
“Yeah, there’s a lot of belief in our group and a lot of resilience as well, but we know it’s not going to be easy. We are playing against a team that has scored four against FAR Rabat in the quarter finals. It’s a team that we know is not a joke; they are leading in their league in the Egyptian league, so we have to make sure that we are at our A-game and make sure we are at our best to get the results we need.”
Continental football debutants Stellenbosch FC held their own against Simba SC of Tanzania in Zanzibar in a match they lost by a solitary goal away from home.
Former Sundowns captain Hlompho Kekana says Stellies are capable of reversing the scoreline against the Reds in the second leg.
“They are in a very good position simply because the margin of the score is not too much, and I think the home team in Simba is not happy that they couldn’t get a buffer in this match because it’s still there for the taking. Stellenbosch, when they come home, they just have to up the tempo a little bit because when you play away. I always believe that the away teams, they always struggle when they come to South Africa; you just have to up the tempo a little bit and make sure that you play in those moments where they are not comfortable,” Kekana explains.
Pirates and Sundowns will both play in Cairo on Friday evening, with Stellenbosch hosting Simba at the Durban’s Moses Mabhida Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
