After their 2-1 victory over Mamelodi Sundowns in the African Football League on Sunday, Wydad Casablanca's head coach made a big claim about the South Africans' tactics in the first leg of the final.
The Red Castle drew first blood in the battle to become the AFL's first-ever champions as an own goal from Rivaldo Coetzee and a second-half strike from Anass Serrhat gave the Moroccans a narrow advantage heading into the return leg at Loftus Versfeld.
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The DStv Premiership champions did grow into the match and began to play more expansive football as the game wore on, but Wydad head coach Adil Ramzi said after the tie that he noticed Masandawana employing different tactics, including time-wasting, than they usually do in order to gain an advantage in the encounter.
"Sundowns followed methods that were unfamiliar to them, by wasting time, not returning the ball to us when stopping, and many protests," the former PSV Eindhoven youth coach told reporters after the match, per Kooora.
"I think that after their failure to win continental championships in the past seasons, they may see this format as a solution that will lead them to victory and influence their competitors. I expect greater ferocity from them on their home field, and we are ready for all scenarios.
"Just as we won in our home stadium, we are able to repeat that in Pretoria. I do not see this as impossible, even if it is difficult, but if the same spirit and combat is present among the players, nothing will stop us."
"During periods of pressure, they scored on us, as happened against Esperance [de Tunis]. We must address this defect and confront the midfield battle in the return match."
"Now we will rest a little. We have a margin of time to prepare well for the return match, unlike the previous matches. We are satisfied with what has been achieved and we must manage the absences, but we should not forget that we were victorious and this is very important."
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