Abdelmounaim Boutouil Penalty Gives Mamelodi Sundowns Lifeline in AFL Final

• Abdelmounaim Boutouil earned a vital away goal with the equalising penalty in the first leg
• The Moroccan Boutouil slotted home the penalty against his former rivals Wydad Casablanca
• The rescheduled second leg will now be played on Sunday, November 12 at 3 pm

Mamelodi Sundowns's African Football League hopes are precariously poised.

Masandawana go into Sunday's rescheduled second-leg decider with Wydad Casablanca on the back foot but have an away-goal ace up their sleeve.

Rulani Mokwena will know that the slenderest of 1-0 wins will be enough for his team to earn the inaugural AFL title.

The expectedly tense opening to the first half subsided as Wydad began to apply pressure on a rigid Sundowns defence.

The visitor's best opportunity of the first half came for Lesiba Nku but that was minutes before Wydad took the lead.

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Montasser Lahtimi was given too much space down Sundowns' right flank, and he waltzed passed two Sundowns defenders before sliding a dangerous cross into the box.

Scrambling to give Wydad an easy tap-in, Rivaldo Coetzee got a toe to the cross and deflected it passed a helpless Ronwen Williams.

Sundowns were better in the second half and were rewarded just after the 70th minute when VAR intervened to give them a penalty for handball, as reported by SundownsFC.

Former Raja Casablanca defender Boutouil ignored the distracting lasers and slotted his penalty through the fingertip of Youssef El Motie.

Wydad would not leave their fans disappointed, as Anas Serhatt pounced on a headed clearance to volley a thunderous strike into the back of the net to seal a 2-1 win.

Returning to Tshwane with the away goal will give Sundowns some comfort but will not have the luxury of being able to simply defend a clean sheet in the second leg.

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The rescheduled decider will be played on Sunday, November 12, with kickoff at 3 pm at Loftus Versveld Stadium.

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Soweto Derby vs 'African Derby'

Sports Brief recently reported on the debate between fans regarding the scheduling of big matches.

The Soweto Derby and the second leg of the African Football League final were set for the same day.

A compromise has been reached, with the AFL decider having been moved to the Sunday afternoon.