Sundowns lay down a marker with CAF victory in Algeria

Hlompho Kekana struck the only goal of the game as Mamelodi Sundowns secured a vital away victory in their CAF Champions League clash against USM Alger in Algeria on Saturday.

Kekana score the winner on the hour mark after the South African side showed tremendous resolve in defence to keep the score goalless at the half-time break.

The hosts started the match on the front foot and immediately put Sundowns under severe pressure.

A stunning victory for Al Hilal of Sudan and an Ayoub el Kaabi hat-trick for Wydad Casablanca of Morocco were the CAF Champions League matchday three highlights on Saturday. 

Hilal won a group game in the elite African club competition for the first time after 22 failed attempts from 2007 by shocking Etoile Sahel of Tunisia 1-0 in Rades.

Athar el Tahir scored the match-winner on 59 minutes by rifling a low shot past Achraf Krir and into the corner of the net after a neat three-man build-up.

The triumph lifted Hilal to first place in Group B, ahead of Al Ahly of Egypt and Etoile on head-to-head records as the three contenders have six points each.

With home fixtures to come against Etoile and Ahly, a Hilal team coached by Egyptian Hamada Sedki can entertain realistic hopes of a top-two finish and a quarter-finals place.     

Based in Omdurman, a city on the western bank of the River Nile opposite the Sudanese capital Khartoum, Hilal are trying for the 33rd time to win the top African club prize. 

They came closest in 1987 and 1992, losing two-leg finals against Ahly and Wydad respectively 2-0 on aggregate.

Walid Soliman, the 35-year-old Ahly veteran, scored in each half to earn the record eight-time African champions a 2-0 win over pointless Platinum of Zimbabwe in Cairo. 

– Electric atmosphere –

Meanwhile, China-based Moroccan El Kaabi ended a loan spell at Wydad with a treble as Wydad finished 4-1 winners over Petro Luanda of Angola in an electric Casablanca atmosphere.

Against a backdrop of singing, flag-waving supporters, Wydad were stung midway through the second half when Brazilian Antonio ‘Tony’ Ribeiro equalised. 

But El Kaabi netted a second time to put Wydad ahead again on 79 minutes and completed the scoring after Wilson Carmo conceded an own-goal.

Despite the convincing victory, two-time champions Wydad remained second in Group C, two points behind leaders Sundowns.

Mustapha Kheiraoui struck a back pass to captain and goalkeeper Mohamed Zemmamouche far too weakly and 34-year-old Kekana darted forward to secure possession and score.

In Group A, Zesco United of Zambia suffered a setback when held 1-1 in Ndola by Zamalek of Egypt, who led thanks to Mostafa Mohamed for six minutes before Quadri Kola levelled.

TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of Congo top the table with seven points, Zamalek have four, and Zesco and Primeiro Agosto of Angola two each.

© Agence France-Presse