Soccer Reporter
Mamelodi Sundowns 0
Maniema Union 0
The CAF Champions League success that Manqoba Mngqithi believes his team is capable of, is going to take some doing. To emulate the Class of 2016 that earned the Brazilians that star above the club crest, this current lot are going to have to do way better than Tuesday night's showing at Loftus Verafeld.
Of course, any team that makes it to the group stage of the continent's premier club knockout competition has to be taken seriously. Still, such is Sundowns' pedigree in Africa and Maniema Union's minnow status that the smart money was on the South Africans to bag maximum points.
However, the Congolese fought a fantastic rearguard battle that saw them take home a valuable point while leaving Sundowns to wonder just why they were not able to make their dominance count for goals.
A goalless draw is no train smash, but when you are looking to send a warning to the rest of your competitors that you mean business — this is definitely not how to do it. Maniema's celebrations at the final whistle told the story of just what this result meant for them.
The half-time score would no doubt have pleased the visitors, their having kept Sundowns from scoring being a significant part of their game plan. As expected, coach Manqoba Mngqithi made a raft of changes to the team that started the Carling Knockout final against Magesi FC at the weekend.
Six new players made the walk-on team, with Malibongwe Khoza, Savers Flores, Arthur Sales, Kobamelo Kodisang, Thapelo Morena, and Divine Lunga taking the places of Khuliso Mudau, Bathusi Aubaas, Mothobi Mvala, Aubrey Modiba, Lucas Ribeiro, and Peter Shalulile.
An uninformed observer would not have been able to tell that this was a somewhat watered-down Sundowns starting team, as the South African champions dominated possession as they always do. They asked questions of the group stage debutantes early on, as Lucas Ribeiro drew a save out of goalkeeper Efonge Lyongo Brudel with a curling low shot on 16 minutes.
Immediately thereafter, Marcelo Allende came close with a volleyed attempt inside the box. On the half-hour mark, Efonge denied Teboho Mokoena the opener as he palmed the Bafana Bafana star's free kick over the crossbar. A fantastic team build-up ended with Ribeiro combining with Sales, but the latter's shot went inches wide.
Early in the second half, Sales came very close but found Efonge in uncompromising mood, the Maniema No 1 making a fantastic save to deny the Brazilian. The tide turned deep in the half when the visitors put the 2016 champions under tremendous pressure, forcing four corners in succession.
Two of those nearly saw Maniema taking the lead, the initial one seeing a sweet back-heel flick bringing all kinds of panic in the Sundowns box. How the other did not end up with a goal will haunt the Congolese outfit for the entire tournament. Some poor defending by Sundowns saw the ball land at Mouanda Exaicoa's feet, but he inexplicably smashed the ball hard from inside the six-yard box — sending it against the crossbar — and all those in the yellow and blue breathed a collective sigh of relief.
Try as they did to find that winner, the goal proved elusive, and Sundowns have it all to do with double trips up to Morocco on the horizon.