Sundowns did ‘exceptionally well to finish top of a difficult group’: Rulani

Mamelodi Sundowns' durability they displayed bouncing back from a tough start to end top of a difficult Group A bodes well for the team in the Caf Champions League knockout stage, coach Rulani Mokwena said.

Sundowns ended on 13 points as they beat second-placed TP Mazembe (10 points) 1-0 in Saturday's battle for top place at Lucas Moripe Stadium.   

Downs will meet either Tanzania's Simba or Young Africans or Tunisia's Espérance de Tunis in the quarterfinals. They avoided the other the group winners, Egypt's Al Ahly, Asec Mimosa's of Ivory Coast and Angola's Petro de Luanda.

Also encouraging for the Brazilians as they seek a first title in Africa's premier interclub competition since 2016 is that Wydad Athletic — so often their nemeses in the knockout stages, including in last year's semifinals — are out of the competition.

The Moroccan outfit lost 1-0 at home to Asec as Simba thrashed Botswana's Jwaneng Galaxy 6-0, Wydad bowing out in third place on goal difference to the Tanzanian club in group B. 

Mokwena praised his team's resilience in this group campaign.

After a 3-0 home win against FC Nouadhibou of Mauritania, Downs lost 1-0 against Mazembe in Democratic Republic of Congo then were held 0-0 at home by Egypt's Pyramids to leave their chances of progression up in the air. Sundowns bounced back with a 1-0 win against Pyramids in Cairo and 2-0 victory away to Nouadhibou, that team's first defeat at home in the group stage.

“It was a difficult group from when the draw came out initially. But I think we’ve done exceptionally well to finish on top of a difficult group,” Mokwena said.

“We bounced back after a bit of a patch with the result against Pyramids and result away against Mazembe. We showed good mentality and resolve to bounce back and get a good result.

“We stressed the importance of winning this game. And also because I think there was a bit of a sour taste after we lost away from home [against Mazembe], and really maybe undeservedly because we really played well in Lubumbashi.

“But we played better today — much better; much better control. Maybe a performance like that deserves one or two more goals, but Mazembe didn’t really create chances, even on set pieces.

“Maybe the best chance they got was from a mistake in our build-up. But otherwise really a spotless performance and I was very happy.

“Not necessarily with the result because I think a performance like that deserves a bigger scoreline, but with the control, the personality, the aggression, the counter-pressures, the passes.

“The players played with bravery, we took a lot of risks when we needed to. And that’s how big teams must play.

“I’m very proud of the players, of the team for finishing on top. It’s very important.

“It gives us points for the Club World Cup, it gives us confidence going into the knockouts and also ensures we continue doing what we are doing, which is to try to win every game we play.”

Sundowns — who lead the DStv Premiership by 11 points from second-placed Cape Town City, but with two games in hand — meet TS Galaxy at Mbombela Stadium on Wednesday (7.30pm).