CAFCL: Sundowns knew they would eliminate Espérance after home win – Williams

Photo Credit - Mamelodi Sundowns Media.

Mamelodi Sundowns goalkeeper and captain Ronwen Williams has revealed they were confident of beating Esperance and eliminating them from the CAF Champions League after their 1-0 first leg win in South Africa.

The Brazilians qualified for the last four of the inter-club competition at the expense of the Tunisian outfit on a 1-0 aggregate scoreline following their 0-0 return leg draw against Stade Olympique Hammadi Agrebi on Tuesday.

“This one is up there as one of the best, just because of the desire and the character from the team to dig deep. It’s not easy coming here [Tunisia],” he told the club’s media as quoted by FARPost. “We knew it was gonna be a fight. We knew they were gonna come guns blazing. We stood firm, and we didn’t give them a sniff.

“When we beat them at home, we changed the history of the club [because] we hadn’t beaten them before. So when we beat them at home, I knew and I had a feeling that this year it’s ours.”

On the role played by coach Miguel Cardoso, Williams said: “The coach obviously played an important role; he knows them, so he gave us all the insights… how they were going to play, what they’re going to do, and the possibilities. So we knew the threats, we knew their weaknesses, and we knew it’s going to be a game of small margins. And that’s exactly how it was last year. Last year, I think they had two chances in both legs and they went all the way to the final. I think this year, we probably had two chances and we took one. Sometimes that’s all it takes.”

Sundowns will now have to navigate past African champions Al Ahly, who reached the semis stage following a 2-0 aggregate win against Sudanese outfit Al Hilal. Sundowns will host the first leg against Al Ahly on 18 April with the return leg set for 25 April.