Mamelodi Sundowns dethroned as African champions by AS FAR

Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies have been dethroned as CAF Women’s Champions League champs after they were thumped 4-0 by AS FAR in Sunday’s final.

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The Brazilians went into the encounter as the defending champions of the trophy, and they knew it wasn’t going to be easy against the hosts.

Sundowns found themselves behind as early as the 15th minute after Fatima Tagnaout opened the scoring for AS FAR.

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Things went from bad to worse for Sundowns as striker Rhoda Mulaudzi was sent off for a reckless tackle in the 36th minute following VAR review.

Captain Zanele Nhlapho also got her marching orders for a second bookable offence in the 53rd minute, leaving Sundowns with only nine players on the pitch.

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Ibtissam Jraïdi netted a hat-trick, with the first goal coming from the spot-kick as a result of Nhlapho’s tackle inside the Sundowns penalty box.

Jraïdi scored again in the 86th minute and competed his treble on the night deep into stoppage time to hand AS FAR the trophy.

A BITTERSWEET WEEKEND FOR MAMELODI SUNDOWNS

It was indeed a bittersweet weekend for Mamelodi Sundowns in the sense that their men’s team won the Carling Black Label Cup by beating Orlando Pirates 4-0 on Saturday while Banyana Ba Style lost to AS FAR by the same scoreline.

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However, both Sundowns teams – men and women – brought home over R7 million. Rhulani Mokwena’s charges banked R3 million in the Carling Black Label Cup.

The Sundowns Ladies, on the other hand, came home with R4.4 million after finishing as runners-up in the CAF Women’s Champions League.

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