Williams shines in shootout, sends Sundowns to Champions League semis
Mamelodi Sundowns’ dream of CAF Champions League glory lives on! In a dramatic encounter that went down to the wire, Ronwen Williams emerged as the hero, saving two crucial penalties to propel his side to a semi-final berth.
After a tense match that ended in a draw, Williams stepped up to the challenge, denying Yanga SC and sending the Sundowns faithful into a frenzy.
Here are the talking points from the encounter that was played at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria.
RETURN OF REGULAR FEATURES FOR SUNDOWNS
Masandawana began the match with their regular features who didn’t take part in the DStv Premiership match against Richards Bay on Tuesday. In fact, Rulani Mokwena changed the whole starting line-up.
He brought back Themba Zwane, Teboho Mokoena, Khuliso Mudau, Devine Lunga, Grant Kekana, Thembinkosi Lorch, Ribeiro Costa, Peter Shalulile, Aubrey Modiba, Ronwen Williams and Marcelo Allende.
MOKWENA’S MEN SHOWING DESPERATION FOR EARLY GOAL
The Brazilians are known for building up slowly and waiting for the right moment to enter into the pockets. However, they would get the ball and quickly drive forward seeking to find the breakthrough. They made a few box entries but Yanga kept on closing the door a the back.
Just like in the first leg in Dar es Salaam, Sundowns were enjoying a lion’s share of possession with Yanga applying a low block.
While Themba Zwane seemed to be a bit off, the man who was putting pressure and leading Downs’ attack was the Brazilian forward Lucas Ribeiro who recently returned from injury.
DJIGUI DIARRA’S TIME-WASTING
Adding to the pressure that the home side already had in trying to break the visitors’ defence, it seemed like time-wasting was going to be an integral part of Yanga’s goalkeeper Djigui Diarra’s game.
The match went to half-time with a 0-0 score-line on the board.
Neither of the sides made changes when they returned for the second half. And the home side continued with their dominance while the Tanzanian giants remained alert and stubborn at the back.
Masandawana kept on knocking but produced minimal goal-mouth action.
VAR RULING OUT WHAT SEEMED LIKE AN OPENER FOR YANGA
VAR was consulted when Yanga thought they had broken the deadlock via Stephane Aziz Ki who unleashed a thunderous shot inside the box beating Williams. The ball hit the crossbar and seemed like it crossed the line.
A few minutes later, the VAR ruled it out keeping the score goalless. Towards the end of the match, Sundowns faced some scary moments with Yanga hitting them with counter-attacks.
The match went straight to the penalty shoot-outs after the game could not decided in regulation time.
While Sundowns missed one penalty, Williams was a hero as he made two saves to help his side reach the semi-final.
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