Mamelodi Sundowns’ test against Tanzanian giants Young Africans will revoke memories of what remains one of the most intriguing contests in the CAF Champions League.
Sundowns have only ever met Yanga once before and that was in the second round of the CAF Champions League back in the year 2001.
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It was a goals galore contest played over two legs, with the Brazilians proceeding 6-5 on aggregate.
First up on May 13, 2001, Sundowns were 3-2 winners at Loftus courtesy of a goal from S’nothi Mthalane and a brace from Bennett Mnguni.
The visitors got both their goals from Iddi Moshi.
Neil Tovey was in charge on a caretaker basis fielding Paul Evans in goals, Dan Semake, Themba Mnguni, Muisi Ajao, and Mike Manzini at the back with Charles Motlohi, Papi Mbele, Bennett Mnguni, Isaac Shai in midfield, while Raphael Chukwu and Mthalane were up front.
Gift Kampamba, Alex Bapela and Alton Meiring came on from the bench.
With two away goals in the bag, Yanga had the belief they could overturn this tie two weeks later at home and go through to the group stages.
The second leg was then taken 1200km away from Yanga’s base in Dar es Salaam to Mwanza at the rickety CCM Kirumba Stadium.
Sundowns went into the break with the lead after Shai scored earlier on in hostile conditions in this scenic city on the edges of Lake Victoria.
The hosts then equalized just after the hour mark, but Chukwu restored the lead for the visitors.
From there, with the home crowd in full voice, the referee made sure he used the whistle to the favour of Yanga awarding them two controversial penalties in the last five minutes of the game, which came either side of Chukwu’s second goal of the match.
While the referee then added at least 10 minutes optional time, the damage was already done at 3-3 and the long balls that landed in Sundowns’ box counted for nothing.
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Even if Yanga got a fourth goal, they would still not have gone through, and Sundowns ultimately went all the way to the final, which they lost to Al Ahly.
The latest contest starts out in Dar es Salaam on Saturday, before the return leg in Pretoria on April 5.
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