African Champions League 2017 - Holders Sundowns progress to group phase

African Champions League 2017 Mamelodi Sundowns

 

The African Champions League title-holders, Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa, survived a scare in Kampala on Saturday as they drew 1:1 at KCCA to progress to the group phase of this year's competition.

Sundowns went to Uganda leading 2:1 from last weekend's home leg, with the Kampala City outfit buoyed by their away goal.

It was KCCA who went ahead in the second leg of the last-32 tie, leaving the defending champions stunned.

Geoffrey Sserunkuma, who had scored in all three of Kampala City's African Champions League games during this campaign, netted again after half an hour to make it 1:0 on the day and 2:2 on aggregate.

Crucially, because of their away-goal, that strike also meant that if the score stayed that way, KCCA would oust the holders and advance to the last sixteen.

However, the hosts' fairy-tale run came to an end ten minutes from time when substitute Anthony Laffor of Liberia smashed the ball into the net to equalise and give Sundowns a 3:2 aggregate lead.

That was how the match ended, with Laffor later revealing what his coach Pitso Mosimane had urged him to do before coming off the bench.

"I'm happy to have been trusted to make the difference," Laffor said on Sundowns' official twitter feed.

"The coach said to me that I must get in the box and fight," the Liberian added.