Mamelodi Sundowns lost 1-0 to Esperance in their CAF Champions League semi-final first leg on Saturday night.
Bafana Bafana international Teboho Mokoena was left out of the Sundowns squad, as Themba Zwane get the nod while Peter Shalulile was named on the bench.
Masandawana missed a big chance after the opening ten minutes when Marcelo Allende snapped over following a pacey one-two wide of the attacking area.
Sundowns did have a lot of the ball but battled to get in-behind and penetrate the Blood and Gold who covered every space in defence and attack.
Masandawana seemed to have gone ahead ten minutes to halftime when Zwane tapped in a cutback from Thembinkosi Lorch, but it was cleared off the line.
The action turned immediately as a snap shot in the box from Rodrigo Rodrigues hit the upright before Divine Lunga cleared the follow-up off the line.
Sundowns fell behind five minutes ahead of the break when Yan Sasse beat the offside trap to go clear and chip the advancing Ronwen Williams for the opening goal.
Masandawana received a golden chance shortly after halftime as Lucas Ribeiro Costa cutback on the area to release an unmarked Lorch right of the box, but he slammed over.
The South African champions were extremely confident and opened up the host when a one-two between Lorch and Zwane saw the latter get a smart shot in on target.
In a quest to level, more firepower were injected by Masandawana who threw on Shalulile in place of Zwane in the remaining 20 minutes of the match.
Sundowns kept probing in the closing exchanges and had a powerful strike from range by Mothobi Mvala force Amanallah Memmiche to step back and palm for a corner-kick.
Masandawana didn’t get any joy after the host held tight onto the lead to claim the win and advantage in the overall tie.
Confirmed line-ups:
Mamelodi Sundowns: Williams, Kekana, Mudau, Mvala, Lunga, Modiba, Aubaas, Lorch, Allende, Zwane, Riberio
Subs: D.Onyango, Lebusa, B.Onyango, Mbule, Morena, Maseko, Maema, Shalulile, Maboe
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