Sundowns Ladies ready for roaring Simba Queens in Champions League semis

9 Nov 2022

High-flying Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies will tackle Tanzania’s Simba Queens in the semifinals, as the South Africans bid to defend their continental crown.

Reigning African champions Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies are preparing for what they anticipate will be a tough Caf Women’s Champions League semifinal tussle against Tanzania’s Simba Queens after comfortably winning all three of their group games.

South Africa’s Sundowns, and Simba, together with tournament hosts Asfar, of Morocco, plus Bayelsa Queens of Nigeria will be tackling each other for a place in the showpiece match — which is scheduled for Sunday, 13 November in Rabat.

The semifinals will be played on Wednesday, 9 November. Sundowns face Simba at 6pm (SA time), while Asfar battle Bayelsa at 10pm.

Masandawana have been highly impressive once more in the second-ever edition of the women’s Champions League, after winning the inaugural instalment which was held in Egypt at the tail end of 2021.

In 2022, Banyana Ba Style have maintained their impressive form in the premier continental competition for African female footballers. In the eight games that the team has played to date since the inception of the tournament a year ago, it has kept seven clean sheets.

Moreover, their final group phase win — a comprehensive 4-0 thumping of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s TP Mazembe — marked their seventh success (and sixth in open play) at the tournament.

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“We are pleased with the clean sheet we achieved in this tough encounter. Overall, it was a perfect way to finish the group stage,” said star defender Bambanani Mbane after their emphatic triumph over Mazembe.

Masandawana face a tough task as they try to topple three-time Tanzanian champions Simba, with hopes of reaching a second successive Champions League final and defending their title.

However, according to head coach Jerry Tshabalala, his side is more than ready for the challenging encounter.

“I respect Simba, they are a team that plays the ball around. They’ve got strong players in the middle of the park and they know how to break the lines,” Tshabalala said. “It’s going to be a tough semifinal, but we are ready for them and also looking forward to it.”

Though players such as Sundowns skipper Zanele Nhlapho and sharpshooter Melinda Kgadiete have rattled the net in the tournament so far, it is forward Lelona Daweti who leads the scoring charts in the competition — with four goals from Masandwana’s three games.

Against the roaring Simba, the South Africans will be keen to once again penetrate the opposition defence. As Tshabalala noted after their final group game, they are not short of players that have the ability to win them matches.

“We are making very good progress because last year we scored just two goals in the group stage. This year we scored 11 times,” highlighted Tshabalala.

“These are confidence boosters for the team because we aim to find the back of the net against anyone we face. I am also happy that everyone is getting on the scoresheet, and we are not depending on one player to deliver the goals.” DM

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