AS FAR coach: Sundowns are one of the best

AS FAR Rabat coach Alexandre Santos says it was 'very difficult' to get their regular game going against Mamelodi Sundowns.

The Moroccan outfit were keen to make their presence felt and return for the second-leg with something to build on, but couldn’t comeback from a first half belter by Aubrey Modiba.

However, the result doesn’t deter the visitors who back themselves to overturn it on their own turf in the second-leg next Sunday and hailed the strike from Modiba as a piece of brilliance.

READ | Modiba stunner sinks AS FAR in CAFCL final

The Portuguese tactician insists there was nothing they could do about Modiba's goal, but insists they are still confident heading to the second leg.

“It was tough, very tough and the first half was more than we wanted to close the space, Sundowns is very strong, we did very well. We get the ball a lot of times and we made our counter-attacks and transitions very well, we could make better and maybe if we made better the second half was easy,” Santos told SuperSport after the game.

“But when we conceded one goal as we conceded was not our fault but it’s the great ability of the player of Sundowns was difficult to control our intention to make more but when we want to make more, we leave space to players like Sundowns.

“It’s very difficult and Sundowns when get space it’s one of the amazing teams of this continent and we keep our result to 1-0, we try, we try to but in the end the most important thing is we go to our home to go to confident to get the other result and to make the goal to make title and fight until the end that’s our intention."

The delay at the start of the second half which lasted for over 20 minutes due to the unavailability of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) operator.

“Was not good, because I don’t understand what happened really because sometimes VAR could get problems, but it solved the organisation should be the proud.

“I don’t know, it was not easy for our players because we go inside the second half to improve our ability to score and it was not easy. Maybe it was better for them than for us, but it wasn’t easy,” Santos said.