Sundowns miss R8.2 million after CAF Super Cup heartbreak

Mamelodi Sundowns missed out on a third trophy of the season following a 3-1 home loss to Algeria side USM Alger in the CAF Super Cup on Sunday.

Sundowns were beaten at home as even playing in front of their supporters at Loftus Versfeld was not enough against the well-drilled USM Alger.

It took the Algerian side just four minutes to break the deadlock when Zakaria Draoui struck home from close range following a good pass in the box.

Sundowns would suffer a setback when Brayan Leon was stretchered off with an injury to be replaced by Iqraam Rayners in the 16^th minute.

Four minutes later, the Brazilians were handed an opportunity to take the lead from the spot after Aubrey Modiba’s shot hit the outstretched arm of Rayane Mahrouz.

Missed opportunities cost Sundowns

After a lengthy VAR check, which included the referee going to the monitor, the penalty was awarded and Rayners stepped up to make it 1-1 in the 24^th minute.

Six minutes later, Sundowns should have extended their lead when Thapelo Morena connected well with Cassius Mailula’s shot and headed in beautifully but the USM goalkeeper was equal to the task, punching the ball out.

That miss proved costly as six minutes later, USM were celebrating the second goal. From a corner, Sundowns failed to defend well, the initial attempt hitting the crossbar, before Saadi Radouani headed in from the rebound.

Sundowns had one last opportunity in the first half when Morena got into the box but failed to beat the goalkeeper from close range with the two teams heading to halftime with USM leading 2-1.

The game took long before the second half resumed with a stoppage of over 20 minutes due to bad weather as heavy rains made the pitch unplayable.

How much is the CAF Super Cup worth?

Upon resumption, USM looked to be the more prepared side as they took 10 minutes to extend their lead and in some style.

Ahmed Khaldi took the ball and made a great run forward, weaving past his markers before unleashing an unstoppable low shot into the bottom right corner past Ronwen Williams.

The Algerian side had a couple other opportunities which they failed to convert while Sundowns had a goal ruled out 11 minutes from time.

Teboho Mokoena was penalised for passing the ball after it had gone out before Tashreeq Matthews directed it into the goal.

With their early elimination from the CAF Champions League last month, Sundowns have now kissed all CAF competitions goodly this season while defeat sees them miss out on the Super Cup winner’s prize of $500,000 (R8.2 million) and they will now settle for $250,000 (R4.1 million) which is awarded to the losing team.