Williams shines for Downs, Al Ahly finish the job

by Thando Mpembe

Saturday Apr 06, 2024. 11:00

Mamelodi Sundowns booked their spot in the CAF Champions League semi-final when they defeated Young Africans on Friday evening at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium in a dramatic encounter that ended in a penalty shootout.

The game came to a close as a goalless draw, replicating the first leg result and goalkeeper Ronwen Williams was instrumental as he made two impressive penalty saves, Sundowns won the shootout 3-2.

Masandawana showed determination from the first whistle, but were unable to break through the rock hard Yanga defence. It was a powerful attacking display from both teams, however it was difficult for both to get a proper shot on goal.

The away team thought they had the lead as Stephane Aziz Ki’s shot beat Williams and hit the crossbar. It seemed as though the ball had crossed the line but VAR ruled the goal out.

As for current champions Al Ahly, the Egyptian team also made it through to the semi-final of the competition after beating Simba 2-0 in the second leg at the Cairo International Stadium, making it a 3-0 win on aggregate.

The Friday fixture saw a goal courtesy of Amr El Solia and a converted penalty in stoppage time from Mahmour Kahraba catapult the 11 time champions into the next round.

Al Ahly will face the winner between TP Mazembe and Petro de Luanda at the following hurdle as they will be in action on Saturday.