Mamelodi Sundowns bowed out of the CAF Champions League at the semi-final stage following a 2-0 aggregate loss to Esperance.
Masandawana named star player Themba Zwane on the bench to prefer Thapelo Maseko and Rivaldo Coetzee from the first-leg defeat in Tunis last Saturday.
Sundowns were extremely close to the lead on two minutes when Peter Shalulile ran in from the blind side to cut inside and forced Amanallah Memmiche to come out and parry.
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The Taraji expectantly sat deep and played on the break using one-touch passing patterns to switch play to get behind the all-conquering South African champions.
Play was halted due to ominous weather conditions and lightening in the vicinity of the venue and both teams were send back into the changing rooms by the officiating team.
After nearly an hour, the match officials assessed conditions and resumed with Masandawana first on the ball and shaved the near post through Marcelo Allende’s surging shot.
Maseko was stretchered off after battling to continue on the half-hour mark and had Thapelo Morena come on in his place.
Sundowns were unfortunate not to go ahead five minutes to halftime as Memmiche produced a superb point-blank save and smothered Shalulile’s header.
Masandawana continued to pile on the pressure after the break and forced the Tunisian giants to sit deep and hold their nerve.
The Blood and Gold remained threatening on the counter and got their reward when substitute Raed Bouchniba beat the offside trap from a long ball up-field and burst clear to find the bottom-corner.
Shalulile did have a glorious chance to pull level a little later from a shot on-the-turn in the area, but he blazed well over after getting a yard of space.
It continued to be a frustrating evening for the host as Aubrey Modiba unleashed a long-range and clattered the upright ten minutes to the end.
Esperance enjoyed a bit of momentum in the closing stages and had chances to double the lead, but were undone by poor bit of finishing.
The Blood and Gold were victorious in the end and advanced to the final to set up a date with North African rivals Al Ahly SC.
Confirmed line-ups:
Mamelodi Sundowns: Williams, Kekana, Mvala, Coetzee, Mudau, Lunga, Maseko, Aubaas, Allende, Shalulile, Ribeiro
Subs: D.Onyango, Lebusa, Zungu, Lorch, Modiba, Zwane, Morena, Maema, Matthews
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