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Sundowns ladies clip Angels wings in Caf Champions League
Nhlapo’s first half goal sealed maximum points for Banyana Ba Style.
Zanele Portia Nhlapho celebrates goal with teammates during the 2021 TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Champions League match between Rivers Angels and Mamelodi Sundowns at Al Salam Stadium, Egypt, Cairo, on Tuesday. (Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix)
Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies took a step closer to reaching the semi-finals of the Caf Women’s Champions League by beating Rivers Angels 1-0 in their second group game match at El Salam stadium in Cairo on Tuesday night.
Zanele Nhlapo’s first half goal sealed maximum points for Banyana Ba Style, as they took their points tally to six after two games to go on top of Group B standings.
They won by the same score-line in their opening match of the tournament when they beat Vihiga Queens of Kenya, while Angels of Nigeria had a bad start in the tournament by registering a 3-0 loss over Asfar of Morocco.
With Sundowns on six points with one more game to wrap up the group phase, Asfar and Queens are tied on three points after the Kenyans recorded a 2-0 win over the Moroccans in an earlier game.
The opening 10 minutes saw the South Africans having a slow start, with the Nigerians putting them under pressure in search of an early goal.
Sundowns’ first chance of the game came in the 12th minute. Morifi Chuene played a cross inside the Angels’ box, but Rhoda Mulaudzi’s shot went off target.
Despite the slow start, Sundowns would go on to take the lead in the 17th minute thanks to Nhlapo. Vivian Ikechukwu’s header looked to be on target in the 21st minute, but Sundowns were able to clear the danger in order to keep the lead.
Sundowns would go on to finish the first half stronger, with chances falling for Andisiwe Mgcoyi, who couldn’t keep her header down, while Mulaudzi’s shot was not strong enough to beat Angels keeper Charlotte Adjei.
Looking to turn things around in the second half, Maryan Ezenagu’s curler was remarkably saved by Asa Rabalao in the 50th minute. Minutes later, Angels thought they had finally found an equaliser through Ikechukwu, but the goal was disallowed after she was judged to have handled the ball.
But, it became a closely contested affair in the later stages of the game, as Angels looked desperate to level the scores. But, they couldn’t as Rabalao kept them at bay between the sticks to make sure Downs go on to win the match.
