{"id":1130,"date":"2026-03-23T10:49:35","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T07:49:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/?p=1130"},"modified":"2026-03-23T11:09:48","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T08:09:48","slug":"caf-cl-sundowns-progress-to-semis-despite-defeat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/?p=1130","title":{"rendered":"CAF CL: Sundowns Progress To Semis Despite Defeat"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Mamelodi Sundowns held their nerve under intense pressure in Bamako to secure a place in the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League semi-finals, despite suffering a 2-0 defeat to Stade Malien in the second leg on Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The South African side advanced 3-2 on aggregate after their commanding first-leg victory, withstanding a fierce challenge from the Malian side in a dramatic encounter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It marks a fourth consecutive semi-final appearance for Sundowns, underlining their growing consistency among Africa\u2019s elite clubs, even as they were pushed to the limit away from home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Dream start for Stade Malien<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The hosts wasted no time in igniting belief, striking inside the opening minute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Taddeus Nkeng rose above the defence to head home from close range, with VAR confirming the goal after an initial offside flag, sending the home crowd into early celebration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The goal unsettled Sundowns, who struggled to establish their usual rhythm in the opening stages, with the Malian side pressing aggressively and disrupting their build-up play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nkeng thought he had doubled the lead shortly afterwards, finishing calmly after a well-timed through ball, but VAR intervened again to rule the effort out for offside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">GOOOOOAAAALLLLLL \u26bd\ufe0f<br><br>Haman Mandjan scores to drastically reduced the deficit in the <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/CAFChampionsLeague?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#CAFChampionsLeague<\/a> <br><br>\ud835\udc12\ud835\udc2d\ud835\udc1a\ud835\udc1d\ud835\udc1e \ud835\udc0c\ud835\udc1a\ud835\udc25\ud835\udc22\ud835\udc1e\ud835\udc27 2\u20e3\u27960\u20e3 \ud835\udc0c\ud835\udc1a\ud835\udc26\ud835\udc1e\ud835\udc25\ud835\udc28\ud835\udc1d\ud835\udc22 \ud835\udc12\ud835\udc2e\ud835\udc27\ud835\udc1d\ud835\udc28\ud835\udc30\ud835\udc27\ud835\udc2c  <br>(\ud835\uddd4\ud835\uddda\ud835\uddda: 2\u20e3\u27963\u20e3)<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/TotalEnergiesCAFCL?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#TotalEnergiesCAFCL<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/CAFCL?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#CAFCL<\/a>  <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Sundowns?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Sundowns<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/AreyengMasandawana?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#AreyengMasandawana<\/a> <br><br> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/psmYNOJDXO\">pic.twitter.com\/psmYNOJDXO<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Pan-Africa Football (@PanAfricaFooty) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PanAfricaFooty\/status\/2035769552827498914?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 22, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Pressure pays off before the break<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Stade Malien continued to threaten and were rewarded just before half-time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Following a scramble in the penalty area, Haman Mandjan reacted quickest to a rebound, striking a powerful effort that crashed in off the underside of the crossbar to make it 2-0 on the night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At that point, the tie was finely poised, with the aggregate scoreline narrowing and momentum firmly with the hosts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sundowns, meanwhile, found it difficult to create clear opportunities, with Arthur Sales coming closest in the first half but unable to convert from close range.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Sundowns regroup after the interval<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The visitors emerged from the break with greater composure, attempting to slow the tempo and regain control of possession.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They thought they had found a crucial away goal when Iqraam Rayners bundled the ball into the net from close range, but the effort was ruled out for offside, denying Sundowns a potentially decisive moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Coach Miguel Cardoso turned to his bench in search of stability, introducing fresh legs as the South African side focused on managing the game and protecting their aggregate advantage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Late drama and resilience<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The tension increased further in the closing stages when Sundowns were reduced to ten men after Aubrey Modiba received a straight red card for a dangerous challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sensing an opportunity, Stade Malien pushed forward relentlessly in search of a third goal that would have forced extra time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The hosts launched wave after wave of attacks, testing goalkeeper Ronwen Williams with efforts from distance, but the Sundowns defence held firm under sustained pressure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite the numerical disadvantage, the South African side showed resilience and discipline, absorbing the late onslaught to see out the match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Mission accomplished<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>While the defeat on the night exposed vulnerabilities, Sundowns\u2019 earlier advantage proved decisive as they secured progression to the semi-finals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For Stade Malien, the result will be a source of pride after a spirited performance that pushed one of the tournament favourites to the brink.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sundowns, however, continue their continental journey, demonstrating once again that experience and composure can be as crucial as attacking flair in knockout football.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mamelodi Sundowns held their nerve under intense pressure in Bamako to secure a place in the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League semi-finals, despite suffering a 2-0 defeat to Stade Malien in the second leg on Sunday. The South African side advanced 3-2 on aggregate after their commanding first-leg victory, withstanding a fierce challenge from the Malian [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1131,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[273,272,271],"class_list":["post-1130","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-caf-champions-league","tag-caf-cl","tag-mamelodi-sundowns"],"aioseo_notices":[],"blog_post_layout_featured_media_urls":{"thumbnail":["https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Mamelodi-150x150.png",150,150,true],"full":["https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Mamelodi.png",1320,815,false]},"categories_names":{"4":{"name":"Sports","link":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/?cat=4"}},"tags_names":{"273":{"name":"CAF Champions League","link":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/?tag=caf-champions-league"},"272":{"name":"CAF CL","link":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/?tag=caf-cl"},"271":{"name":"Mamelodi Sundowns","link":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/?tag=mamelodi-sundowns"}},"comments_number":"0","wpmagazine_modules_lite_featured_media_urls":{"thumbnail":["https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Mamelodi-150x150.png",150,150,true],"cvmm-medium":["https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Mamelodi-300x300.png",300,300,true],"cvmm-medium-plus":["https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Mamelodi-305x207.png",305,207,true],"cvmm-portrait":["https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Mamelodi-400x600.png",400,600,true],"cvmm-medium-square":["https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Mamelodi-600x600.png",600,600,true],"cvmm-large":["https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Mamelodi-1024x815.png",1024,815,true],"cvmm-small":["https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Mamelodi-130x95.png",130,95,true],"full":["https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Mamelodi.png",1320,815,false]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1130","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1130"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1130\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1132,"href":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1130\/revisions\/1132"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1131"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1130"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1130"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsnest.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1130"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}