sportskeeda
Mamelodi Sundowns secured their inaugural victory in the CAF Champions League, edging past Moroccan giants Raja Club Athletic with a 1-0 scoreline at Loftus Stadium on Sunday.
The only goal of the encounter came from former Stellenbosch player Iqraam Rayners in the 65th minute, following a brilliant build-up pass from Ronwen Williams to substitute Kutlwano Letlhaku, who set up the Bafana Bafana forward. Rayners deftly positioned himself at the edge of the box, unleashing a powerful shot that struck the post and nestled into the net.
This victory marked the first match for newly appointed coach Miguel Cardoso, who succeeded Manqoba Mngqithi the previous Tuesday. The Portuguese manager made four changes to the squad that played to a 1-1 draw against AS FAR last week in Morocco.
Mosa Lebusa, Devine Lunga, Siphelele Mkhulise, and Neo Maema came in for Mothobi Mvala, Aubrey Modiba, Bathusi Aubaas, and Namibian striker Peter Shalulile. The Brazilians didn’t start the game strongly, with the Moroccan side dominating the early stages and generating several chances.
However, Cardoso’s men began to settle into the game after the 30-minute mark, coming close to scoring through Lucas Ribeiro Costa, who was denied by an outstanding tackle from Abdellah Khafifi.
The first half ended without goals, at 0-0. In the second half, Sundowns introduced young talent Lethlaku, who came on for Mkhulise. The home side sprang to life in the early minutes, with Lunga emerging as a significant threat from the left flank, although they failed to capitalize on their opportunities.
The Brazilians continued to impress, eventually netting the opening goal in the 65th minute. Williams delivered a fantastic pass to Letlhaku, who set up Rayners for the goal, marking the striker’s second goal in back-to-back matches following his earlier effort in a 1-1 draw against AS FAR.
In the 70th minute, Raja earned a free-kick and momentarily believed they had equalized with a goal from Mohamed Boulacsout, but the assistant referee flagged it for offside. Raja had another goal disallowed just five minutes later for the same reason.
In the dying moments of the match, play was briefly halted when a fan sprinted onto the pitch toward Williams, but security quickly intervened to remove him. Bafana Ba Style secured second place with five points after three matches, level on points with FAR but ahead on goal difference.
The next Champions League clash for Sundowns is set against the same Moroccan side on January 3 next year at Stade Larbi Zaouli in Morocco, marking a return encounter. Ultimately, Sundowns seems to be gaining confidence in the group stages, which was previously a concern.
