Sundowns out of Champions League after Horoya horror show

FOR a second successive year, Mamelodi Sundowns – the 2016 champions of Africa – were knocked out of the CAF Champions League, held to a draw in their own backyard by lowly Horoya AC from Guinea.

This time the Brazilians didn’t even make it past the group stages, having endured a horror campaign from the start when they kicked off their journey in Group C by playing to a 1-1 draw against title holders Wydad Casablanca at this same venue.

The tension was almost palpable before kick off, the Sundowns supporters knowing that it was win or bust.

All that was needed was a victory – even the narrowest of margins would have secured passage to the quarter-finals at Horoya’s expense.

But the visitors were in fact the ones that showed urgency in the opening minutes, while Sundowns tried to read their game plan.

For Horoya, a point would have been enough, but it wasn’t until the hosts piled on the pressure late in the second half that the Guinea outfit retreated – parking a bus and relying on goalkeeper Germain Berthe to keep them in the game.

Sundowns had their chances, and when the clearest of those opportunities - Gaston Sirino putting Sibusiso Vilakazi clean through on goal - did not go in there was a sense that it probably wasn’t their night.

All the big guns were brought back after they were rested at the weekend in the 1-0 defeat to Cape Town City in the MTN8 first leg semi-final. Pitso Mosimane, the Sundowns coach, made no changes on Saturday afternoon to show just how significant this final group stage clash at home against Horoya was.

But even with fresh legs, key players like Sirino, captain Hlompho Kekana and striker Jeremy Brockie just weren’t at the races.

Brockie in particular will be held responsible for Sundowns firing blanks here. He hardly made use of any of the chances created and looks like he is still trying to adjust to life at Chloorkop despite arriving as far back as January.

It might have been a mistake on Mosimane’s part to rely on him for goals on a night like this. But his replacement Anthony Laffor didn’t make an impact either.

With the ever jubilant Sundowns fans sensing that a draw, which would ultimately feel like defeat because it wouldn’t have been enough, on the cards, there were calls for more attacking impetus. However, the first substitution was a defender in Motjeka Madisha due to an apparent injury to rightback Anele Ngcongca.

The other two were Laffor and Lebogang Maboe – the two forwards who should have perhaps started the game given what was at stake.

Horoya held on to an unexpected win and qualified for the last eight of the Champions League for the first time in the club’s history, alongside Wydad, who topped the group and had beaten Sundowns in Casablanca almost two weeks ago.

The Brazilians will have another go at this tournament later this year when the next edition, squeezed into a few months from December to May, begins, having qualified after winning the South African title three months ago.

But their home and away record will have to improve to repeat the 2016 achievement. Sundowns fans backed their coach by chanting his name at the end of this defeat, but he will know that this was a huge shock and disappointment.

@superjourno