- Sundowns claimed the inaugural AFL title
- They beat Wydad Casablanca in the final
- Shalulile and Modiba on target for Downs
WHAT HAPPENED: As soon as the man in the middle blew his whistle to signal the end of the African Football League final, the seas of yellow at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium roared with cheers as they celebrated witnessing Mamelodi Sundowns being crowned the winners of the maiden AFL.
Downs got the better of North African rivals Wydad Casablanca in the capital city, beating them 2-0 in the second-leg clash to win the overall tie 3-2 on aggregate.
However, their win was marred by some unsporting behaviour when a host of Sundowns players collected yellow cards as they employed time-wasting tactics when they spent over two minutes to take a free-kick.
HOW IT PANNED OUT: Peter Shalulile opened the scoring in the 45th minute after some good inter-play by Sundowns' frontline. Teboho Mokoena instigated the move and laid the ball to Themba Zwane, who used his trickery to create some space and quickly returned the ball back to Mokoena.
The reigning Premier Soccer League Footballer of the Season fired towards goalkeeper Youssef El Motie but his effort was dealt with. However, El Motie did not extinguish the danger as he parried the ball onto the path of Shalulile, who would not miss from that distance.
Modiba intercepted a Wydad stray pass and went on to leave defender Anas Serrhat on the ground before he fired into the back of the net. Modiba had the option of Ribeiro Costa on his right but he decided to go for glory and he chipped the ball over El Motie to double up for Downs.
MOKWENA DRAWS THE BIG GUNS: During the build-up to the game, Mokwena did sound like a man who was hopeful that Shalulile and Ribeiro Costa would be fit for the tie, and indeed, the two lethal front-men won the race against time to make their first appearances in five and six games respectively.
BackpagePixShalulile gave Downs what they have been missing as he netted to inspire Sundowns in his sole AFL appearance. Costa, meanwhile, did not have a lot of gas in his tank and the Brazilians lasted for 65 minutes. Midfielder Bongani Zungu came on in his place.
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Sundowns will be smiling to the bank as they bagged a handsome $4 million (approximately R75 million) while the Moroccans will take home $3 million (around R56 million).
Downs have now won three continental crowns having claimed the 2016 Caf Champions League and the 2017 Caf Super Cup under the now unattached Pitso Mosimane.
African Football LeagueWHAT'S NEXT: After wrapping up celebrations, a host of Sundowns players will link up with the Bafana Bafana team as Hugo Broos has named eight Downs men in his squad.
Mokoena, Zwane, Modiba, Thapelo Maseko, Grant Kekana, Ronwen Williams, Khuliso Mudau, and Mothobi Mvala are all part of the squad. Bafana are set to take on Benin and Rwanda in back-to-back 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifiers.