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Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Sundowns beat TP Mazembe claim African Super Cup crown

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 Mamelodi Sundowns picked up yet another piece of silverware after they defeated DR Congo giants TP Mazembe 1-0 at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria to claim the CAF Super Cup on Saturday evening.

The Brazilians were victorious in the annual exhibition match thanks to a late penalty from Ricardo Nascimento. It was a deserved triumph for the South African champions, who dominated the vast majority of the match.

The first clear chance of the encounter went the way of Mazembe, with striker Ben Malango sprinting free on goal in the ninth minute. He beat Denis Onyango with his first shot, but the ball crashed into the upright.

The Mazembe striker got onto the rebound and looked sure to score with a second attempt, but Onyango recovered well to push the effort onto the same post and deny the DRC giants an early lead.

Sundowns generally enjoyed the majority of ball possession in the first half, but it was only in the final minutes before the break that they really looked like capitalising on their dominance.

Khama Billiat should have at least hit the target when presented with a clear sight of goal in the 37th minute, while Anthony Laffor almost snuck a shot into the bottom corner just before the break, but goalkeeper Sylvain Gbohouo did just enough to keep it out.

From the start of the second half, the Brazilians were even more dominant and created a string of openings from which they should have broken the deadlock. However, the likes of Hlompho Kekana, Laffor and Tiyani Mabunda were all guilty of spurning good opportunities.

It seemed only a matter of time until ‘Downs broke through and the Ravens’ defence finally cracked with just under 10 minutes to play, as Kekana was clumsily brought down in the box to win a penalty.

Defender Ricardo Nascimento coolly converted from the spot to claim the game’s decisive goal in the 83rd minute.

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