Maseko hands Sundowns advantage against Ahly

Mamelodi Sundowns will head to Cairo for their African Football League (AFL) semifinal return leg on Wednesday with a slight advantage after they edged Al Ahly 1-0 in the first leg on Sunday.

Thapelo Maseko scored the only goal in the second half to give Masandawana an advantage.

In the absence of Mothobi Mvala, who got a red card in their quarterfinal match against Petro de Luanda in the second leg, Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena started with Grant Kekana at the centre-back.

Themba Zwane led the attack, playing as false number nine and was supported by Maseko, Marcelo Allende and Gaston Sirino.

The Red Devils’ approach was to sit back and allow Sundowns to have all the possession while hoping to catch them on a break. Ahly did well to keep Sundowns at bay in a dull opening half.

The hosts dominated the match but could not create clear-cut chances as the Red Devils were not giving them space.

Masandawana’s best chance came only at the half-hour mark when Maseko’s header from Teboho Mokwena’s inviting ball was tipped for a corner by Ahly goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawy.

Sundowns goalie Ronwen Williams, on the other side, was a spectator in the opening half as Ahly offered little going forward and went into the break with the match still in the balance.

Masandawana came back with more energy in the second half and were able to press Ahly, who could not cope.

And from one of those presses, Sundowns pressure finally paid off five minutes into the second half. Ahly midfielder Marwan Ateya was disposed of by Aubrey Modiba, who laid a pass to Maseko and took a curling shot which beat El Shenawy.

The momentum was with Sundowns in the second half and they had other chances to increase their advantage. They will take the slender advantage to Egypt on Wednesday, where they will look to complete the job.

The pressure will be on Ahly as they will need to score and make sure Sundowns don’t find an away goal.