Mamelodi Sundowns qualified for the CAF Champions League groups stages in style after demolishing Cote d’Or of the Seychelles 11-1 in the second leg of their first-round tie on Friday night.
Pitso Mosimane made four changes to the side that thrashed the same opponent 5-0 in the first-leg, with regulars, Gaston Sirino, Themba Zwane and Thapelo Morena named in the line-up, while goalkeeper Kennedy Mweene replaced Reyaad Pieterse in goals.
The Brazilians were on the front foot in the early stages as they got the early goal in the ninth minute courtesy of Zwane to set the tone for the match.
The hosts were finding a lot of space in the last third, which eventually saw the second goal arrive as Sirino doubled their lead in the 19th minute before Sibusiso Vilakazi extended the advantage two minutes later with a close-range finish.
It was one-way traffic and Vilakazi was in a mood for goals after completing his brace on 24 minutes to extend Sundowns’ lead to four on the night. Sundowns were not easing up on their attacks in the closing stages of the first half. Vilakazi completed his hat-trick five minutes before half-time after the visitors failed to clear their lines,
Morena joined in on the party in the last two minutes of the stanza with a header inside the box as Sundowns went to the break with a whopping six-goal lead on the night and 11-0 ahead on aggregate.
Mosimane’s charges were quick off the mark again in the second stanza, as Motjeka Madisha bagged the seventh goal two minutes after the break with a powerful strike inside the box.
Anele Ngcongca got on in the goal-scoring spree, as he got the eighth goal for Sundowns three minutes before the hour-mark with a tidy finish inside the box after slaloming his way through the Cote d’Or’s defence.
The Brazilians showed no signs of slowing down as Zwane grabbed the ninth goal with 16 minutes remaining with a first-time finish inside the box to complete his brace. Three minutes later, Sirino delivered a teasing cross into the box that was turned towards the back of the net by the goalkeeper Beniot.
The islanders did manage to pull a goal back 11 minutes before time from a rare attack, courtesy of Voavy.
Off-season signing Mauricio Affonso got a debut goal for the Brazilians eight minutes before time with a neat close-range header, just two minutes of making his introduction.
That brought an end to the flurry of goals as Sundowns booked a spot in the group stages with an emphatic 11-1 win on the night and 16-1 victory on aggregate, while Cote d’or drop down to the CAF Confederation Cup play-off round.
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Source – SoccerLaduma
