Sundowns pip Wydad to first African Football League title

Mamelodi Sundowns have defeated Wydad 3-2 on aggregate to clinch the inaugural edition of the African Football League (AFL).

A sea of yellow has marched into African football’s promised land.

The ghosts of last year’s CAF Champions League semi-final have been exorcised for Mamelodi Sundowns.

Masandawana beat Wydad Casablanca 2-0 in the second leg of their African Football League final to lift the first iteration of the continental super cup.

Sundowns went into the match knowing they had never lost to Wydad in Tshwane and that a single goal in their favour could swing the tie.

The first 20 minutes were an unattractive sparring session littered with small fouls that had two teams struggling for any cohesion.

Sundowns were the first to string some passes together as Wydad continued their spoiling tactics that attempted to wind down the clock.

The constant stoppages worked against Wydad as Peter Shalulile would open the scoring the 48th minute of a marathon 58-minute first half.

Tebogo Mokwena volleyed a bobbling ball from the edge of the box toward the bottom corner of Youssef El Motie’s goal but all the Morrocan keeper could do was parry it into Shalulile’s pathway, who slammed it into the roof of the net.

Shalulile almost made it two from a slack back pass but an equally poor pass across midfield let in Aubrey Modiba who calmly chipped El Motie to shake the foundations of Loftus Stadium.

Despite rolling the substitution dice, Wydad had little to offer in response, barring a shot from distance after a mix-up between Abdelmounaim Boutoui and Ronwen Williams.

Sundowns saw out the 90 minutes and even after the injury time board read nine minutes, the final whistle blew with Bafana Ba Style becoming the first-ever winners of the African Football League.