by NJABULO MKHIZE
DURBAN, (CAJ News) – GONE are the days in which north African football teams dominated the sport in the continent.
The pendulum has completely changed as proved on Tuesday when South African premiership clubs Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates narrowly beat their northern counterparts with an identical 1-0 in the first-leg quarterfinal matches of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Champions League played across the expansive continent.
First to win were Sundowns, who narrowly beat visiting Tunisian giants Esperance 1 – 0 at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria before Orlando Pirates followed suit by edging 0 -1 the host club MC Alger at Stade 5 Juillet in Algeria.
Also posting impressive results were Egyptian giants Pyramids FC, who hammered the hapless Moroccan side FAR Rabat 4 – 1 while Al Ahly SC narrowly dismissed the Sudanese side Al-Hilal 1 – 0 in Cairo, Egypt.
Both Orlando Pirates and Sundowns carry slender victories ahead of their second leg quarterfinals set for Tuesday and Wednesday next week (8th-to-9th April).
All southern African nations’ eyes will monitor the performances of these two great football clubs.
See full results below:
CAF Champions League
Pyramids FC 4 – 1 FAR Rabat
MC Alger 0 – 1 Orlando Pirates
Al Ahly SC 1 – 0 Al-Hilal
Mamelodi Sundowns 1 – 0 Esperance
– CAJ News