Mamelodi Sundowns entered the halftime break with 1-0 lead over AS FAR Rabat in the first leg of the CAF Champions League final.
Halftime: Mamelodi Sundowns 1-0 AS FAR Rabat
Brazilians were boosted by the return of the Keanu Cupido, who many believed had broken his arm against Kaizer Chiefs two weeks ago, according to coach Miguel Cardoso, who also went for Kutlwano Letlhaku in the attack following Tuesday's loss to TS Galaxy.
Cardoso did not have one single defensive minded midfielder on the park as Teboho Mokoena was partnered with Nuno Santos and Jayden Adams, who did not feature against Galaxy on Tuesday due to his suspension as he looked to control the contest.
While Sundowns did control the possession, AS FAR were quite happy to sit back and soak up all the pressure while remaining a big threat on the encounter and set-pieces, as Yunis Abdelhamid went closes with a headed effort at the midway point of the first half.
Sundowns, however, dominated in open play but managed to get the breakthrough via a dead-ball situation in the 37th minute when the returning Aubrey Modiba found the back of the net with a superb free-kick from around 30 yards out, leaving goalkeeper Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti with no chance.
Mamelodi Sundowns: Williams, Mudau, Ndamane, Cupido, Modiba, Adams, Santos, Mokoena, Letlhaku, Matthews, Leon
Subs: Onyango, Johannes, Saleng, Lunga, Zwane, Mothiba, Mdunyelwa, Allende, Sales
AS FAR Rabat: Tagnaouti, Bach, Abdelhamid, Loudni, Carneiro, Hrimat, Hadraf, Ait-Ouarkhane, Hammoudah, Slim, El Fahli
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Source: Soccer Laduma
