MAMELODI Sundowns Ladies are not going to let go of their CAF Champions League title that easily.
Shock 1-0 losers to SC Masar in their opening Group B match of the continental club tournament, the Brazilians bounced back in style yesterday at the Stade Larbi Zaouli in Casablanca, Morocco.
Sundowns smashed the Central Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) 4-0 to get back into contention for a spot in the knockout phase and remain in line for a successful title defence.
The two-time champions (2021 and 2023) could well have won the match by a much wider margin had they not taken the foot off the pedal after the break.
They scored all their four goals before halftime, and even had a fifth one ruled out for offside after the referee consulted the VAR.
Yet, early in the match, it appeared Banyana Ba Style were going to have a hard time against a team that had also begun their campaign with a defeat – CBE having lost 3-0 to Edo Queens.
The Ethiopians took the initiative and played confidently in the initial minutes as the champions seemed to be taking time to settle.
And when Sundowns lost captain Bambanani Mbane due to injury before the quarter-hour mark, coach Jerry Tshabalala must have feared the worst.
Incredibly though, it was after Mbane’s exit that Sundowns began to take control of proceedings, and they duly opened the scoring on 17 minutes through Melinda Kgadiete.
Boitumelo Rabale made it 2-0 eight minutes thereafter, before Kgadiete completed her brace on the half-hour mark with a brave low-diving header to meet the ball sent in via a free kick from the left.
The match was now over as a contest, but Sundowns were not finished as Lelona Daweti made it 4-0 on 36 minutes via a sweet chip over the goalkeeper, following CBE’s defensive blunder that saw them gift Sundowns possession right in front of their box.
Just before the halftime whistle, Daweti scored a fifth, only for VAR to spot that there was an offside before the goal.
Yellow Family👆Let’s congratulate Soft Life for walking away with the Player of the Match Award👏🎉#SundownsLadies #RabatsenaGape #CAFWCL pic.twitter.com/RTRc9SOhqy
— Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies Team (@SundownsLadies) November 13, 2024
The second half saw Sundowns pushing for more, and Rabale smashed the ball against the post early on.
But thereafter, they just could not make their dominance count for goals – not that it was a huge problem, as they’d already secured the three points that now sees them still in the hunt.
They play Edo Queens in their final group match on Saturday.