Dolly and Sundowns ready to make history
MAMELODI Sundowns winger Keagan Dolly wants his name etched in the annals of African football.
That can only happen if Dolly and his teammates edge out Zesco United, whom they host in the second leg of the African Champions League at the Lucas Moripe Stadium in Atteridgeville tonight.
If the Brazilians succeed in overcoming Zesco, who lead Sundowns from the first leg after their 2-1 win in Ndola last weekend, then Dolly will be two matches away from getting his name mentioned in the same breath as Mohammed Aboutrika, Tresor Mputu, Robert Kadiaba, Mark Fish, Edward Motale and a host of other Champions League winners.
“It’s an opportunity for us to go down in the history books,” he said. “I think it’s all up to us. It depends on how much we want it. I think we have the quality to move from the semi-finals to the final.
“This is a huge opportunity for us to showcase to the world what we have in South Africa.
“The past years it has been Pirates playing in the Champions League and Confederations Cup. I think we deserve to be where we are. We really worked hard for it.”
Much will be required from Dolly on attack because Sundowns will be under enormous pressure to score in order to overturn Zesco’s lead.
If Sundowns score one goal without conceding, they will be through to the final, where they are likely to meet Egyptian giants Zamalek.
“At Sundowns we enjoy the pressure,” said Dolly. “We enjoy dominating in every competition we play in.
“For us it’s more about the process than the end product. We believe that if we take care of the product it will eventually deliver the end product.
Trickery
“We always put ourselves under pressure and I think we’re dealing quite well with it. Now we’re focusing on our game against Zesco.”
Part of the strategy that Zesco applied in the first leg was to minimise the influence of Dolly and Khama Billiat.
The trickery and pace of the two have been the main source of goals for coach Pitso Mosimane’s men on both the domestic and continental fronts.
In Ndola the Zambians managed to keep them at bay for the better part of the match, apart from the last three minutes, when Billiat managed to halve Jackson Mwanza’s two-goal advantage.
Although one goal will be enough for the PSL champions, Dolly said they would do their best to get as many as possible in order to advance to the final.
“With the pace and the energy we have here, we stand a proper chance,” he said.
Sundowns have clashed with Zesco four times in all, three times in friendlies and once in a competitive match.
Dolly was adamant that Sundowns could get a positive result tonight.
“Zesco is not a closed book,” said the man who captained South Africa at the Rio Olympics.
“We played them a few times. We know what they are about. We respect them. They are a good team. They are good on the ball. But we also had chances.
“We could have scored. We lost a bit of concentration with the two goals.
“I think with a good pitch here at home and our people behind us, I think we’ll overcome the challenge.
“We’re 2-1 down but we have an away goal. If we score one goal, we know that we’re okay.
“We want to play our normal game. We know it’s not going to be easy. We have to keep our defensive shape and focus on discipline.”
Billiat, who scored the crucial away goal in Ndola, agreed with his teammate.
The Zimbabwean said his side had the character to bounce back from last weekend’s 2-1 loss.
“We are fighters. We were born to fight. We will fight all the way. Anything in front of us, we take that battle head on,” said Billiat, last season’s Premiership player of the season.
“I think it’s a confidence booster to go into the second leg with an away goal.
“We didn’t really play the way we wanted. We needed to create more chances, at least to score two goals. But we appreciate this one goal.
“We go into the second leg with our heads held up. It’s not over. We will fight until the end.
“Overall, as a team, we are really growing. We just need to keep focus and try not to concede in this second leg and score goals.”
The Premier Soccer League has postponed next week’s midweek fixtures involving MTN8 finalists Sundowns and Wits.
The fixture between Ajax Cape Town and Wits at Cape Town Stadium, set for Wednesday, has been moved to October 26 at the same venue.
The fixture between Sundowns and Bloemfontein Celtic, scheduled for Wednesday at Lucas Moripe Stadium, has been postponed, with the venue and date still to be confirmed. – Additional reporting: ANA