1. Thembinkosi Lorch marks his comeback with a goal
Lorch has been through a lot and has recently. Natasha Thahane, the Bafana Bafana forward’s girlfriend, announced their split on Friday and it did not take anything away from the former Orlando Pirates forward. At 30, Lorch has been given an opportunity by Mamelodi Sundowns and he is in to give skipper Themba Zwane a challenge for a place in the team. Thembinkosi Lorch scored Sundown’s second in Mauritania to give Sundowns a 2-0 win.
2. Young Africans are serious contenders for the CAF Champions League
Yanga shocked everyone by beating Belouizdad 4-0 in Tanzania on Saturday. It was one of the best performances in their entire history as Miguel Angel Gamondi got his selection and tactics right. Yanga has exceptional talent in the team with the likes of Zouzoua, Aziz Ki, Kennedy Musona, and Djigui Diara all stepping up at the business end of the season. No team must underrate them as apart from the 3-0 capitulation in Algiers, they have proven to be one of the best teams in the CAF Champions League.
3. Al Hilal will rue not getting the opportunity to play in Ourmduman
Florent Ibenge’s Al Hilal have paid a huge price for not playing in Sudan due to the armed conflict. Al Hilal is always a difficult side at home and wins most of their points in Sudan. The story would have been different had Al Hilal played in Sudan.
They are now third in the group trailing Esperance by 3 points. Al Hilal must win else they will be out of the competition against Esperance in Tunisia. It is a very difficult task for the Sudanese giants.
4. Medeama’s profligacy in scoring continued against Al Ahly
Medeama has missed more than 12 clear-cut chances in the CAF Champions League in the 5 games they have played. On Friday in Kumasi against the defending champions Al Ahly, Bernadinho Tetteh and Daniel Lomotey missed great chances to put Medeama ahead. They have been extremely poor in scoring and it is the reason why they did not qualify for the group. Now Jonathan Sowah is gone, who will step up to bang in the goals for the Ghanaian champions in the Ghana Premier League?
5. Esperance Tunis has proven to be superior over their rivals, Etoile du Sahel
Etoile du Sahel lost once again to their arch-rivals Esperance de Tunis in Rades. Yann Sasse and El Ayeb Zakaria’s first half-goals were enough to condemn Etoile du Sahel to another defeat against Esperance. Etoile du Sahel is out of the competition while Esperance needs at least a draw against Al Hilal of Sudan. Esperance undoubtedly remains the boss in Tunisian club football as they have beaten Etoule home and away in the CCL.
6. North African dominance has been minimized by the sub-Saharan African clubs
Mamelodi Sundowns, TP Mazembe, ASEC Mimosas, Petro Luanda and Yanga have all qualified at the expense of Pyramids, Belouizdad, Etoile du Sahel and Wydad Athletic. Esperance must avoid defeat against Al Hilal to join Al Ahly as the only club from North Africa to make it to the knockout phase.
Wydad, Esperance, Belouizdad, Etoile du Sahel and Pyramids have all been beaten by teams from sub-Saharan Africa in the CAF Champions League.
7. Oufa Shobeir will be a great goalkeeper for Al Ahly in the future
Marcel Koller confirmed during the post-match conference on Friday in Al Ahly’s 1-0 win over Medeama that Oufa Shobeir is a great goalkeeper that Al Ahly is counting on.
In place of Mohamed El Shanawy, the 23-year-old has been incredible in Algeria and Kumasi for the Red Devils. The young goalkeeper made crucial saves against Medeama to keep Al Ahly in the game.
Shobeir will replace El Shenawy in no time as he has shown exceptional qualities.
Egypt is well known for producing fantastic keepers and it will not be surprising to see Shobeir joining the list of illustrious goalkeepers Egypt has produced soon.
8. Petro Luanda is yet to concede a single goal in 5 games
Top-notch coaches will tell you that titles are not won by good attackers alone but a solid defence also wins titles. It is very incredible to read that Petro Atletico from Angola has played 5 games in the group stages and has yet to concede a goal. Two visits to Tunisia against Esperance and Etoile and a visit to Tanzania against Al Hilal are dangerous trips but Petro Luanda survived and did not concede a goal.
The back three of Inacio Miguel, Pedro Pinto and Quinito have been solid for Petro Luanda.
Will they play the entire Group stage without conceding a goal?
