By Harry Awurumibe, Editor Abuja Bureau
Two goals in each half of the match scored by Chuene Morifi and Andisiwe Mgcoyi ensured that Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies made African history by becoming the winners of the first-ever CAF Women’s Champions League after beating Hasaacas Ladies of Ghana 2-0 in Cairo, Egypt on Friday evening.
Sundowns Ladies’ victory means the Chloorkop club joins Spanish side Barcelona as the only football clubs to win the men’s and women’s Champions League titles on their respective continents.
Also, the victory over a Ghanaian side ensured that the South Africans have exacted revenge for their men’s national team Bafana Bafana’s controversial loss to Ghana’s Black Stars last Sunday in the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier tie.
Sundowns Ladies went into the break with their handy 1-0 lead given to them by their pacey wingback Morifi 33 minutes in. She benefitted from an intricately worked Downs attack and a brilliant over-the-top chip by Melinda Kgadiete that allowed Mgcoyi to get behind the Hasaacas Ladies defence and ping a low cross.
Morifi did the easy part, tapping into the net with the outside of her left boot before delirium ensued on the Downs bench.
Hasaacas tried to hit back after conceding with a four-on-three counter-attack that they should have made the most of, but they couldn’t find the final ball till the end of first half.
Sundowns started the second half with another headed chance missed as they continued their dominance over their counterparts.
The clash of styles and systems worked in the South Africans’ favour. Their 3-5-2 setup looked fluid and foiled the Ghanaians’ 4-2-3-1 formation.
Mgcoyi was imperious with her positioning and using her frame against Hasaacas defenders, although outnumbered most times and hacked frequently.
She got her just reward when she latched onto a Nhlanhla Mthandi through pass and expertly swept the ball under Hasaacas goalie Grace Buoadu’s on-rushing frame.
With two goals down Sundowns looked on course to seal history while Hasaacas Ladies were never going to come back from the dead just as any hope of getting a goal was thwarted by Sundowns goalkeeper.
Goalie Andile Dlamini who remained cool at the back, although she was seldom worked was to pull out a world-class save from the top drawer to deny Perpetual Agyekum’s ferocious left-foot strike from a direct free-kick just outside the box.
Despite a VAR-prompted red-card to substitute Regina Mogolola in injury time, Sundowns defiantly writ their names into football history books.
Coach Yussif Basigi of Ghana’s tactics failed him on the day while Coach Henry Tshabalala of South Africa was a better manager on the day it mattered most.
