Al-Hilal Omdurman coach Laurentiu Reghecampf claims his plans for Mamelodi Sundowns changed after seeing that goalkeeper Ronwen Williams was not going to feature.
Sundowns were handed their first loss in the CAF Champions League group stages following a defeat to the Sudanese side on Friday night at the Amahoro Stadium.
Al-Hilal struck first deep into first-half stoppage time after referee Mahmoud Nagy awarded a penalty following a costly mistake by veteran goalkeeper Denis Onyango.
Mohammed Abdel Rahman stepped up and converted the spotkick to end the first half 1-0. After recess, Jean Claude Girumugisha doubled the lead for the home side before substitute Arthur Sales reduced the deficit to end the game 2-1.
“I would like to say congratulations to the players from both teams, they played amazing football tonight. Both teams tried to win the game, I told you before it was going to be an open game,” the coach told reporters.
“In the end, you see that it was playing to one goal and another goal and it was amazing football. For the coaches, it is not easy to see this type of game, but for the fans I think it was a nice night, nice football and I would like to say congratulations to all the players tonight.
“Congratulations to Rwanda, Kigali for all the accommodation they provide for us in order to have these conditions to play football.”
Reghecampf feels Sundowns lost one of their key players, which helped Al-Hilal defend against the quality.
“I think the big value for us is that the first goalkeeper [Ronwen Williams] didn’t play,” he added.
“When I saw the news in the paper this week, I only had one plan, which was to press, high press, to not let them come in the middle and play their game because they have very good quality players from the middle and I think for them it’s a minute because of the build-up, they lose one important player.”
The result lifts Al-Hilal to eight points and into sole possession of first place in Group C, placing them in a strong position as the competition heads into its decisive phase.
Sundowns, meanwhile, remain second on five points and will now need a strong response in the return fixtures to reassert their qualification credentials.
