CAF Champions League match report | AmaZulu hold TP Mazembe – 15 October

AmaZulu played to a 0-0 draw with TP Mazembe in their first leg of the CAF Champions League second match at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Friday.

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This was a good result for TP Mazembe away from home but Usuthu would be proud to have stood firm against one of Africa’s giants.

Benni McCarthy brought back Augustine Mulenga to assist Bonginkosi Ntuli upfront as Lehlohonolo Majoro settled for a place on the bench.

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AmaZulu got off to a good start with Siphesihle Maduna firing wide of Ibrahim Mounkoro’s goal in the early stages of the encounter.

Neither side could create clear-cut goalscoring chances with Mazembe happy to sit back and soak up the pressure in the first half.

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Veli Mothwa had little to do in the opening 45 minutes as Usuthu managed the game and gave Mazembe no chance to test the Bafana Bafana goalkeeper.

The second half saw McCarthy add pace in the final third with the introduction of Thabo Qalinge and Luvuyo Memela.

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And after a quiet period midway through the second half, Mazembe would nearly score when Christian Kouame released Soze Zemanga through on goal with 18 minutes to play.

However, Mothwa came off his line to quickly deny Zemanga and keep AmaZulu in the game with a superb save.

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Siphelele Mthembu and Majoro then entered the fray as McCarthy looked for solutions upfront.

Nonetheless, it wasn’t to be as none of the players who came in could beat Mazembe goalkeeper Mounkoro.

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Ultimately, both AmaZulu and Mazembe settled for a goalless draw going into the second leg on 23 October in Lubumbashi.