Saturday the 19th of April saw the 1st legs of the CAF Champions league semis being played out, and South Africa played host to those 2 hugely anticipated encounters with Tshwane and Soweto holding their breadths as Mamelodi Sundowns took on perennial nemesis Al Ahly in what has become a derby of sort, whilst Orlando Pirates took on Pyramids FC.
Tshwane giants took to the field first against Al Ahly looking to get an advantage over their rivals with a modest crowd behind them at Loftus Versfeld, and considering the match took place in the midst of the Easter holiday the Masandawana faithful showed commitment to their team as they did their best to fill up the venue.
Considering how the previous matches had played out between the 2 giants with the Brazilians having put 5 goals past the Red devils of Africa on 2 separate occasions the anticipation for goals was huge going into the encounter, however as coach Miguel Cardoso has repeatedly stated ” you cannot afford to be naive in such circumstances” explaining how context determines play and also the opponent at hand is not some under the tree team.
The same approach Sundowns played in Tunis against Esperance in the last 8 is more or less they played in the 1st leg, keeping the ball for the most part and looking to attack at the right moment. Their opponents whereas played with 4 center backs something Ahly have not done before clearly showing the danger there were wary of from Mamelodi Sundowns. Enjoying much of the possession the Brazilians never really got any clear-cut chance at Al Ahly’s goal, with the Cairo giants getting better chances at goal than their hosts but Ronwen Williams was well positioned to deal with the attempts.
It was more of a cagey affair and the match would end goalless, with the 2nd leg a week later in Egypt evenly poised both teams would surely go at it for the kill in order to get to the finals and with the away goal rule still in place neutrals could say its advantage Mamelodi Sundowns. Across the city of Tshwane in Johannesburg Orlando Pirates were hosting another Cairo outfit in Pyramids FC at the FNB stadium. The Cairo outfit unlike their other counterparts from the Maghreb came to play and were not cautious daring the Pirates goal at every chance.
The Buccaneers tried to match their opponents’ pound for pound, but the decisive pass let them down in the final 3rd. Just before the stroke of half time Pyramids FC thought they had scored after Mbokazi failed to deal decisively with an aerial ball that fell to a Pyramids who made no mistake with a low volley drive that went into the net. As FNB was quietened the match official was told to check the pitch side VAR monitor, and Pirates supporters held their breath, and as the referee ran back into the pitch waving no goal as the goal scorer was in an offside position when he made the shot, the entire stadium and Pirates technical bench sighed with relief.
There was not much change after the interval as Pyramids were relentless trying to break and get between the Pirates’ line of defense. Pyramids thought they had finally scored from a corner kick set piece in the 88th minute after a Pyramids player headed down the ball before it flashed on a teammate’s lamp before going into the net. Before the restart a VAR check was ordered, and it confirmed the ball hit the arm as it flashed on the last player’s lamp as it went into the net.
The match would also end goalless with Orlando Pirates dodging the bullet and as the 2nd leg awaits Pyramids can take courage from the fabulous record they have at their home turf where they have not lost in one year and one month. Results of the match aside, one has to commend the effective use of the VAR technology in CAF competitions as it was spot on in both encounters with Al Ahly goals against Sundowns ruled offside same as Pyramids FC’s goals that were not given with one being offside and the other being handball.
As the 2nd legs await in Cairo, football lovers anticipate titanic battles as all teams would want to go to the final as it would be do or die, and one has to commend the sportsmanship that was on show in both encounters post-match with players mingling and embracing which shows growth in dynamics of African football.
