South Africa – Anthony Laffor’s Mamelodi Sundowns beat DR Congo’s TP Mazembe 1-0 to win the CAF Super Cup at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria on February 18.
Report by Danesius Marteh, [email protected]
The match, which pitted the winners of the Champions League and Confederation Cup, turned out to be a classic game of skills, tactics and determination.
But Sundowns, who won the Champions League 3-1 on aggregate against Egypt’s Zamalek in October, won a penalty deep into the second half when captain Hlompho Kekana was brought down in the box.
And Ricardo Nascimento sent the 33,000 strong fans into rapturous celebrations when he beat Ivorian goalie Sylvain Gbohou, who had kept Sundowns at bay for more than 80 minutes.
Laffor, who had a blinder of a game, coming close several times, dedicated the win to “the whole of South Africa.”
Gbohou was forced to make a low dive from a Laffor shot, which did not have the power he would have wanted.
It was another memorable weekend for the Brazilians, who had a failed FIFA Club World Cup campaign in Japan, having lost 2-0 to Kashima Antlers of Japan on December 11 and 4-1 to South Korea’s Jeonbuk Motors on December 14, 2016 respectively.
Following their Super Cup triumph, Sundowns beat Platinum Stars 2-1 away in the Absa Premier League on February 21.
Laffor, who kept his place in the first IX, was replaced in the 62nd minute by Colombia Leonardo Castro.
Support Independent Journalism
Your support helps FrontPage Africa continue delivering independent, credible, and impactful journalism. Every contribution strengthens our ability to investigate, inform, and hold power accountable while keeping quality journalism accessible to our readers.
Support our journalism or subscribe to receive the latest FrontPage Africa stories and updates.
