PRETORIA – Hosts Mamelodi Sundowns beat Morocco’s Royal Armed Forces 1-0 in the first leg of the African Champions League final on Sunday, with left back Aubrey Modiba scoring the game’s only goal.
Modiba struck home a free kick from outside the penalty box eight minutes before halftime to give the South African champions a slender advantage to take into next Sunday’s return leg in Rabat.
Sundowns might have had a more handsome win had their Colombian striker Brayan Leon not squandered three good chances in quick succession early in the second half, which got underway after a 20-minute delay because of a faulty VAR system.
Both teams were left waiting to restart after halftime before deciding to go ahead without VAR in another embarrassing incident in a major African final.
Earlier this year the African Cup of Nations final between Morocco and Senegal in Rabat was overshadowed by controversial VAR decisions and a walk-off by Senegal.
The same referee, Jean-Jacques Ndala of the Democratic Republic of Congo, oversaw Sunday’s match at Loftus Versfeld but could do little about the faulty technology.
Sundowns midfielder Teboho Mokoena struck the visitors’ upright with another free kick five minutes from time.
Sundowns, who were Champions League runners-up last season, have only previously won the competition in 2016 while the Moroccan army side were victors of the old-style African Champions Cup 41 years ago.