Themba Zwane Scores a Goal and Saves a Goal, Mamelodi Sundowns Beat Al Hilal in Champions League Opener

• Mamelodi Sundowns beat Sudan's Al Hilal thanks to a goal by Themba Zwane in the 8th minute of the game
• Themba Zwane score a goal and also cleared a shot off the goal line as Mamelodi Sundowns beat Al Hilal
• Mamelodi Sundowns held on to an early lead despite a fightback by the Sudanese side, Al Hilal, in the second half

Mamelodi Sundowns got their continental cup campaign off to a winning start, beating Sudan’s Al Hilal 1-0.

Sundowns took on Al Hilal at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in the opening game of Group A of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Champions League.

In a game that Sports Brief monitored, Al Hilal started the game more promising and looked like they would open the scoring first.

That changed suddenly when Themba Zwane pounced on a mistake at the back to finish smartly past the keeper. The goal came in the eight-minute against the run of play, but Sundowns slowly grew more into the game after taking the lead.

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Al Hilal started to get more aggressive after going behind, with Mohamed Abdelrahman at the centre of it. The player was first involved in a clash with Gaston Sirino before later tackling Khuliso Mudau which earned him a yellow card.

The clash with Sirino left the Sundowns player with what appeared to be a broken nose and he had to be stretchered off the field of play.

Thapelo Morena was brought on for Sirino and almost doubled the lead a few minutes later, if not for a last-minute tackle.

Al Hilal came out fighting in the second half and should have put away at least one of the chances. The Sudanese team had 14 corners during the whole match and 12 shots, with only three on target. Sundowns on the other hand only had two corners but had three shots on target from their six shots in total.

In the 81st minute, Al Hilal almost equalized when a header on target was cleared off the line by none other than Themba Zwane. Al Hilal did score in time added on but the referee blew his whistle for a foul on Sundowns’ keeper, Denis Onyango.

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New Sundowns signing, Erwin Saavedra also got a run out in the game, getting the last four minutes. The Bolivian looked extremely sharp from the get-go and was unlucky not to at the end of the game.

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The highly anticipated Confederation of African Football (CAF) Champions League gets underway later today when Sudan's Al Hilal Omdurman takes on South Africa's Mamelodi Sundowns, Sports Brief reported.

The current Sudanese champions have won the Sudan Premier League a record 28 times and the Sudan Cup seven times. Unlike their opponents, Mamelodi Sundowns, they have never won the CAF Champions League but did finish as runners-up in 1987 and 1992.

Al Hilal are also no strangers to South African teams, having signed two players from South Africa recently. Nigeria’s Abdul Ajagun left Cape Town City for Al Hilal, Soccer Laduma reported, while the club also recently signed Gerald Phiri Junior from Baroka FC.