Seeing his exquisite strike, that would have made it 2-all against Petro de Luanda in the first leg of the CAF Champions League quarterfinals away last Saturday, ruled out by VAR has left Mamelodi Sundowns attacker Neo Maema itching to settle the score in the return leg at FNB Stadium on Saturday (6pm).

Petro defeated Sundowns 2-1 in Luanda, thanks to goals by Tiago Azulão and Yano. Sundowns had struck first via Lyle Lakay very early into the game. Maema thought he'd netted the important equaliser in the stoppage time but the goal was disallowed after VAR spotted a foul in the build-up. Maema is raring to compensate for the disallowed goal by scoring on Saturday. He has no doubt The Brazilians will progress to the semifinals on Saturday.

"The disallowed goal is kind of a motivation for me going into the second leg. It would have been amazing if the goal stood. It is a goal I would have cherished for the rest of my life but it wasn't meant to be. Now I have a chance to score in the second leg if I get to play,'' Maema, who has scored four goals and racked-up seven assists across all competitions this season, told Sowetan yesterday.

"I feel like we can do it [advancing to the next phase of the Champions League]. It's possible, especially looking at the fact that we scored away. Our fans will be behind us, that will also boost us. The talk among us as players is that we must score more and avoid conceding.''

The 26-year-old attacking midfielder also conceded Saturday's tie is Sundowns' biggest thus far this season. "This coming game is the biggest game this season for us because it's a do-or-die, we're not getting any second chance. It's a cup final for us. It's like our lives depend on it, so we'll give it our all,'' said the Sundowns ace.