All-conquering in the Premier Soccer League (PSL) this season, the journey to the land of the pyramids and the Nile proved a bridge too far for Mamelodi Sundowns as they were comprehensively beaten 2-0 by Al-Ahly in a second-leg African Champions League encounter at Cairo’s National Stadium on Friday night.
The composed, professional defending champions now move into the last-eight round-robin stage of the lucrative competition on a 4-2 aggregate following a 2-2 draw in the first leg at Pretoria’s Loftus Stadium two weeks ago.
And although it took Al-Ahly 69 minutes to break the deadlock through a precisely taken Shadey Mohamed penalty in an initially dour, uncompromising tussle, there was never any doubt which side was in control of the proceedings.
Knowing that a goalless draw was sufficient to ensure their progress in the competition on the away-goal rule, Al-Ahly played to a tight, disciplined formation for the opening three-quarters of the game, yet always looked the more accomplished and cohesive combination.
And after they had fallen behind, the writing was clearly on the wall for Sundowns, with accomplished Egyptian international Mohamed Aboutrika scoring a gem of a second goal for his team in the 80th minutes after outpacing the Sundowns defence.
The game might well have ended goalless had Benson Mhlongo not indiscreetly conceded the fateful penalty, but the prospect of Sundowns gaining the victory seemingly needed to emerge winners on aggregate always looked a remote possibility.
And the deflating lesson for the club that boasts the motto ”The Sky is the Limit” is that while they might be the biggest fish in the modest PSL pool, in more vast soccer waters they remain they remain relatively small fry.
Emphasising the difference in class between the teams was the imperious manner in which Aboutrika controlled the proceedings as a midfield playmaker, while Surprise Moriri, his Sundowns’ equivalent, was little more than anonymous throughout the 90 minutes.
Sundowns, indeed, only came close to scoring on one occasion throughout the proceedings, with a deflected shot from Lerato
Chabangu almost sneaking into the top corner of the net in the 71st minute.
The football lesson ended an unbeaten sequence of 18 games in all competitions for the frustrated Brazilians, with coach Gordon Igesund resorting to a desperate double substitution in the 62nd minute when he brought on attackers Peter Ndlovu and Lungisani Ndlela for Jose Torrealba and Bille Moudouthe.
But Sundowns continued to struggle to find a way through the disciplined and well-marshalled Al-Ahly defence. — Sapa