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SABC News Sundowns vs Pyramids
Mamelodi Sundowns blew their home ground advantage when Pyramids FC levelled the first leg of the final of the CAF Champions League at 1-all in the dying moments of stoppage time.
Brazilian marksman, Lucas Ribeiro, had fired Sundowns into the lead at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria, but Pyramids swooped in to level up the tie in the final minute of stoppage time.
Sundowns, looking for a second Champions League title in the club’s history, travel to Egypt for next Sunday’s second leg of the Champions League final.
Sundowns knew they would need to exploit their homeground advantage, and their quick transition from defence to attack saw Iqraam Rayners fire off a shot to force a save from the Pyramids keeper inside the first ten minutes.
Sundowns continued to test the Pyramids’ defence and calibrate their range. Arthur Sales shot from outside the box, but the home side would need to be a lot more daring on attack.
Tashreeq Matthews took the bull by the horns with a storming run from deep inside his own half, he was felled by scrambling defenders, but not before getting off a pass to Rayners, who was also taken out.
The result was a free kick that came to nothing, but Matthews and Rayners had the right idea as the first half wore on.
The chances were there for Sundowns, the execution needed to be better, Rayners’ technique let him down when presented with the perfect opportunity to go ahead in the tie.
The first quarter of the Champions League final came to a close with the home side still unable to find the target as Sales’s effort went wide, and the sides went into the break deadlocked at nil-nil.
After playing second fiddle for most of the first half, Pyramids almost caught their hosts napping as the second 45 minutes began. Ibrahim Adel had acres of space to bury his chance, but failed when it counted.
Sundowns, meanwhile, continued to attack down the right flank and seek out their strikers. Lucas Ribeiro took one bite, which was parried by the keeper.
He was on hand for a second attempt, and the Brazilian made sure he was on target for the Brazilians and their legions of fans in the stands at Loftus.
Sundowns opened the scoring, it had been a long time coming. They were poised to make it count at home.
With plenty of time still to go in the tie, Sundowns rang the changes, looking to safeguard a few of the starters, Rayners and Sales in particular, by bringing on Peter Shalulile and Neo Maema, the finishers.
It all seemed to be going to script until the final minute of stoppage time, when Pyramids summoned up an equaliser to break the hearts of the thousands of Sundowns supporters in attendance.
1-1 was how it ended, the final is deadlocked, and the action moves to Egypt next Sunday.
