Immediately after the results of the draw were announced, the South African media described the “Sun Downs” group as difficult, especially as it put the team in new confrontations (the fourth in a row in the African Championship) against Al-Ahly of Egypt.
The victory was an ally of the “Red Genie” in the previous tournament in which he was crowned, after he managed to cross the South African team in the quarter-finals, by winning two goals without reply, in the first leg, while the return leg ended in a positive tie with one goal for each team. Thus, “Sundowns” fans talk about “revenge” in their comments on the upcoming confrontations in the new version of the tournament.
The newspaper “Kick Off” commented on the two teams falling into one group, saying that “Petso Mosimane (Al-Ahly’s coach) returns again to South Africa.” She said, “The two giants of African football are competing head-to-head for a place in the playoffs alongside Sudanese duo Al Hilal and Al Merreikh.”
While the yellow fans acknowledged the difficulty of the lottery, many of them expressed their happiness at meeting Al-Ahly in two expected revenge matches, considering that Al-Ahly “is no longer a closed book” for Sun Downs.
“We’ll finally get revenge”
One of the Sun Downs fan, Tibogo Munibao, wrote in a comment on the club’s official Facebook page, saying: “I wanted to face Al-Ahly in the group stage already .. and I am happy that we are also .. I am confident that we can beat them.” Another said, “We will take revenge at last with both feet.”
Commenting on the draw, one fan wrote: “So the boys will have to travel to Sudan twice… We must treat the matter with respect and adopt a revenge mentality, and collect the necessary points to qualify for the quarter-finals.”
As a fan of the South African team, Moussa Mwali, wrote: “It’s a tough group, but it’s great for us. We have to play and beat the best, to be the best.”
Al-Ahly and Sun Downs met in 10 matches in the African Champions League, starting with the 2001 championship that Al-Ahly crowned at the expense of Sun Downs, and reaching the 2021 championship, which Al-Ahly also won after defeating the South African Kaizer Chiefs by three clean points.
Al-Ahly won five of the ten encounters that brought the two teams together, while the same tie was imposed on four matches, while Sun Downs achieved one victory (by five clean days in 2019). The Egyptian team scored 15 goals against its South African counterpart, while Sun Downs scored 10 goals against Al-Ahly.
Among the fans’ comments, a Sun Downs fan called on goalkeeper Denis Onyango to focus on those crucial matches awaiting his team, and said: “Dennis must focus this time, we cannot afford to lose again for dubious reasons.” He added, “Another thing I would suggest: we should go and camp in Egypt for two months.”
Sun Downs fans attacked the team’s goalkeeper after the last CAF Champions League quarter-final first leg match, which Al-Ahly won with two goals, and the first goal came from a goalkeeper’s mistake, which Taher Mohamed Taher took advantage of, scoring the first goal. Al-Ahly’s page on “Twitter” commented at the time on that mistake by publishing a picture of the goalkeeper with a sarcastic comment after the end of the match.
Commenting on the draw, one of the team’s fans wrote: “I am happy that we are facing Al-Ahly in the group stage and we will kick them…I watched them last week during the Super Cup, and they are weak.”
Al-Ahly had won a difficult victory from Moroccan Raja, by penalty shootout on Wednesday, December 22nd, after the original time of the African Super match ended in a positive tie. Al-Ahly scored its goal in the 90th minute by the feet of its player, Taher Mohamed Taher.
Many Sun Downs fans were keen to flirt with Al-Ahly coach, Betso Mosimane, the South African (former coach of Sun Downs), during their comments. While some warned of the danger of Mosimane because of his accurate knowledge of the playing atmosphere in South Africa. One fan wrote, “There are no easy matches.. Let’s welcome Pitsu Mosimane, he is one of us no matter what team he is currently coaching.. We had the opportunity to correct the unfortunate incidents that occurred last year.”
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