Sundowns players celebrate Super cup glory .IMAGE – GIFT NDOLWANE

Sports Reporter
JOHANNESBURG – It’s back to the African campaign for champions Mamelodi Sundowns when they join the race for glory once more after receiving a bye in the first round of games when they take on Ugandan champions Kampala Capital City Authority FC at the Lucas Moripe Stadium on Friday evening.
This CAF Champions League clash will be the first step in Pitso Mosimane’s defence of the title which earned the Tshwane giants their first star. And the mentor has made it clear how much he values this competition. And he wants to make history by defending the title.
KCCA, as the Uganda side is known, are perhaps the top side in Denis Onyango’s country and have won their Super League nine times, and, other than the one year when they slumped to seventh on the final log, they have always been in the top four.
They are currently top of their log, with 41 points from 18 games, and a healthy +23 goal difference, thanks to a recent 7-0 thrashing of Onduparaka FC .
They are also no strangers to the South African football scene, having lost 2-0 and drawn 1-1 with Ajax Cape Town, and beating Supersport 2-1 and drawing1-1 with Sundowns cross city rivals in previous CAF campaigns.
They are also no strangers to the CAF Champions League, having crashed out twice in the first round and getting to the second round once.
Among the teams they have played against are TP Mazembe and Asante Kotoko.  In the first round of the current campaign, they beat Angolan champions de Augosto 1-0 at home, and then lost 2-1 away, winning on the away goal rule.
This, then is the side that Mamelodi Sundowns will be meeting. Clearly they are no slouches, and the African Champions are going to have to be at their very best to win.  Sundowns need to be particularly vigilant between the 15th and 30th minutes when they score most of their goals, although they also score late in the first half to the 60th.
Mosimane rested some of his key players when his side took on lower ranked Mariveni, who pushed them hard before they scored two quick goals to win 2-0 on Monday.
But of significance is the manner in which young players like Motjeka Madisha put up their hands. The MDC defender put in a man of the match performance, and although he will find competition for his position tough, he will know that he can be called upon anytime.
Sundowns will certainly not take KCCA lightly. In addition to the tireless efforts of the scouting team, goalkeeper Onyango would have provided them with some intelligence, and analysis of some of their players like Allen Okelo, Brian Majwega, Joseph Ochaya, Eric Simbambi and G Sserunkuna.
Chances are that the gloves will once more go to Wayne Sandilands, as Mosimane will not lightly risk the return from injury of Onyango, and Sandilands has proved himself more than capable between the sticks.
But talisman Khama Billiat is likely to return to give the frontline that impetus that has been missing in the last two games while he was out injured. He would also have benefited from the rest, and will be charged up. The pace that will come from Billiat, Percy Tau and overlapping Thapelo Morena will almost certainly prove too hot for the Kampala side’s defence.
Mosimane will know how critical it is to get a healthy lead on your home turf as all sides at this level will prove difficult to beat at their home grounds. The Lucas Moripe Stadium being Sundowns’ slaughterhouse, and with KCCA being known as an attacking side there will be goals aplenty.
Sundowns need a healthy lead as they have a testing PSL fixture on Tuesday against Polokwane City before departing the very next day to Uganda for the second leg against KCCA.
–Guardian