Sundowns Suffer Shock CAF Exit as Pirates Cruise Through and Chiefs Bow Out

Mamelodi Sundowns’ reign as African champions ended at Loftus Versfeld on Friday night, with Angola’s Wiliete knocking the holders out of the CAF Champions League on away goals after a 1–1 draw. A place in the group stage, usually a familiar milestone for the Brazilians, proved beyond them this time.

Orlando Pirates had no such difficulty, beating African Stars 4–0 to advance 5–0 on aggregate. Kaizer Chiefs joined Sundowns on the way out, losing a penalty shootout to Red Arrows despite winning their Confederation Cup return leg in Durban.

One away goal ends Sundowns’ title defence

The danger highlighted in our first-leg CAF report became decisive: Sundowns had brought no away goal home from Angola, leaving a scoring draw in Pretoria enough for Wiliete.

Tashreeq Matthews put the hosts ahead in the 11th minute on 23 October, his deflected effort beating Elber Delgado. Sundowns had the start they wanted, but failed to give themselves breathing room before the interval.

Mabululu punished them four minutes into the second half. Cassius Mailula’s misplaced pass opened the route to goal, and the Angola international finished beyond Ronwen Williams to change the entire tie.

Sunday’s first leg in Lubango had finished 0–0. The aggregate therefore stood at 1–1, with Wiliete’s goal at Loftus breaking the deadlock under CAF’s away-goals rule. Sundowns needed another goal to qualify; the 1–1 scoreline meant there would be no shootout.

Delgado helped deny them, saving from Marcelo Allende and producing a double stop against Brayan León and Matthews. León also wasted opportunities as the time available to rescue the tie slipped away.

Wiliete reached the group stage for the first time. Sundowns, who had appeared there in the previous 11 editions, were left confronting an unusually early end to their Champions League campaign.

Miguel Cardoso accepted responsibility in his post-match assessment, saying: “Of course, it’s a failure. It’s a failure from everybody.” He pointed to missed chances and felt his players allowed emotion to undermine their response after the equaliser.

Makgopa and Masilela help Pirates finish the job

At Orlando Amstel Arena in Soweto, Pirates turned a narrow first-leg lead into a comfortable qualification.

Thapelo Mokobodi opened the scoring from Simphiwe Masilela’s right-wing cross. Masilela then supplied Evidence Makgopa for the second on the stroke of half-time, giving the Buccaneers a 3–0 aggregate cushion at the break.

Pirates’ official match report records an immediate contribution from substitute Mpho Padime, who scored with his first touch just after the restart following a combination with Makgopa. Deon Hotto later set up the striker’s second to complete the 4–0 win.

Makgopa’s two goals and involvement in Padime’s strike stood out, while Masilela’s supply helped settle the contest before half-time. Contributions from the bench also gave Pirates reason to be pleased beyond the size of the winning margin.

Two clean sheets completed a convincing tie against the Namibian champions. Pirates are through to the 16-team group stage and are South Africa’s only remaining Champions League representative.

Chiefs win in Durban but lose the tie

Chiefs’ evening at Moses Mabhida Stadium offered a harsher distinction between winning a match and completing a comeback.

Bradley Cross headed in Mfundo Vilakazi’s free-kick in the 65th minute to secure a 1–0 second-leg victory. That cancelled out Red Arrows’ 1–0 win in Zambia on 17 October, leaving the aggregate at 1–1.

Both sides had scored only at home, so penalties settled the tie. CAF’s final report confirms Red Arrows won the shootout 3–2 to reach the Confederation Cup group stage.

Chiefs had opportunities to avoid that outcome. Mduduzi Shabalala directed a late chance at the goalkeeper, while Asanele Velebayi missed the target. The return-leg improvement could not make up for their limited scoring across the two matches.

Durban City still have a job to complete

Durban City remain in contention in the Confederation Cup, carrying a 3–1 first-leg lead into Sunday’s return against AS Port-Louis 2000 in Mauritius. Kick-off on 25 October is scheduled for 15:00 SAST.

They have an advantage to defend, rather than a confirmed group-stage place. With Chiefs eliminated, City are South Africa’s remaining representatives in that competition.

The Betting Read

Sundowns’ exit removes the Champions League workload that would have come with qualification. Extra preparation and recovery time could help domestically, but a lighter schedule cannot fix finishing or decision-making by itself. An automatic bet on a statement response would overlook what went wrong at Loftus.

Pirates deserve credit for their execution, although the next assessment must account for opposition strength. African Stars’ resistance is only one measure; future continental travel and rotation demands will require fresh checks once the group opponents and schedule are known.

For Chiefs, the evidence here points towards conversion as an immediate concern. A clean sheet and a home win still produced elimination because one goal was insufficient to settle the tie before penalties.

Our Carling Knockout preview sets out the domestic cup context. When comparing the next available markets, use the distinctions in our South African sports betting overview: assess the performance, opposition and settlement rules before deciding whether the price offers value.

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