Sundowns beat Petro to set up African Football League semi-final showdown with Al Ahly
Mamelodi Sundowns have set up a showdown with Al Ahly in the semi-finals of the African Football League after they beat Petro de Luanda on aggregate.
The Tshwane giants played out to a goalless draw with Petro on Tuesday night at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in the return leg of the quarter-final clash.
In the first leg, Sundowns beat the Angolan heavyweights 2-0 last weekend, thanks to goals by Marcello Allende and the youngster Thapelo Maseko.
The win will be sweet for Sundowns as Petro knocked them out of the CAF Champions League quarter-finals in 2022.
In the return leg of the AFL, Sundowns were without the services of several of their key players such as Lucas Ribeiro, Thapelo Morena. Sipho Mbule, Siyanda Nyanga, Bathusi Aubaas, Abubeker Nasir, and Peter Shalulile, who are all injured.
And to make things worse, Sundowns lost Mothobi Mvala as early as the second minute. The defender was sent off for an early shower after a poor tackle on striker Tiago Azulao.
SUNDOWNS DEALT WITH A BIG BLOW EARLY IN THE FIRST-HALF
Mvala has been a key player in the heart of Sundowns’ defence. He has featured in all matches and netted a solitary goal while also chipping in with one assist.
Despite going down to 10-man, Sundowns dominated the ball position in the early exchanges but couldn’t create real goal-scoring opportunities.
The 2016 CAF Champions League winners went into the half-time break deadlocked at 0-0 draw against Petro. Sundowns kept on dominating the ball position in the second-half as they looked to extend their aggregate lead.
There were half chances for both sides with Sundowns controlling the game as Petro struggled to find their rhythm.
Mamelodi Sundowns also kept Petro at bay with some solid defending. The visitors only had one shot on target.
The DStv Premiership champions now have a date with Ahly over two-legs. The first-leg will be played in Cairo on Sunday with the retun leg set for Tuesday in Pretoria.
Ahly made it to the semis via the away-goal rule after a 3-3 draw with Simba SC on aggregate.
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