Downs out to avoid early exit
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Mamelodi Sundowns will face an uphill battle to stay in the Caf Champions League when they clash with KCCA in Uganda on Saturday afternoon.
The first leg of the first round encounter ended in a 2-1 home win to Sundowns, who could have won by a larger margin after having scored two early goals while also enjoying several further
chances to score.
Instead, Geoffrey Sserunkuma netted midway through the second half to give the Ugandans a crucial away goal, which means a 1-0 win in Kampala on Saturday would see them knocking out the defending champions.
"The away goal is very important, it gives us confidence, belief and hope but doesn't mean the tie is over.
"In the first five minutes there were signs of jitters and over-respecting the defending champions, but as the game grew, they started believing that it's possible.
"It was after the two-goal deficit that KCCA FC eventually settled into the game and started the campaign to get back," head coach Mike Mutebi told the KCCA website.
"I always urge my players to believe in themselves, play their roles and play to their best. That's what was needed as the game grew.
"We want to eliminate the defending champions but it won't be easy, they are not a defensive team, I know they are coming to Kampala to play their way, we shall play our way," he added.
For Sundowns, what has been an incredibly busy and taxing last 15 months, seems to be possibly catching up on the team as injuries have set in while several players have not been firing on all cylinders.
Subsequent to their Champions League win over KCCA, the Pretoria team were off colour and labored to a 0-0 midweek league draw with Polokwane City.
Liberian international Anthony Laffor, who played a crucial part in Sundowns' 2016 Champions League-winning campaign, has cautioned his team-mates about living off past glories.
"I think we need to just forget about what happened last year, because what happened last year is history," he said.
"We need to put it behind us and concentrate on what our coaches want us to do. Every game is going to be important and we need to win our games, keep our feet on the ground and forget about being the reigning African champs.
"If we don't concentrate on our games I don't think we'll be African champs again this year, so we need to forget about last year and concentrate on the competition now."
Coach Pitso Mosimane has meanwhile admitted he may be tempted to play for a 0-0 stalemate on Saturday.
But adding to Mosimane's challenges are injuries – Sibusiso Vilakazi is ruled out after he was hurt in the Polokwane match, while talisman Khama Billiat and number one goalkeeper Denis Onyango are both sidelined with injuries.
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