Mamelodi Sundowns get back into continental football duty as they look forward to their weekend CAF Champions League Semi-final clash against Wydad AC. Defender, Grant Kekana shared the team’s mentality for the Champions League mission as they race to claim the second star for the club.
After successfully claiming the domestic league title, Grant spoke about the team’s mentality ahead of the weekend fixture. “We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves we know that with the results from the first leg of the semifinal, it’s only halftime for us. We’ve got a big game and an important assignment on Saturday. We are happy that we got through with the league and we can now focus on CAF with no distractions.”
Bafana Ba Style lifted their league silverware on Tuesday evening and now shift their focus to the Champions League. The team looks ahead to going head-to-head with Wydad after their 0-0 draw in Casablanca for a spot in the next stage of the competition.
The utility defender communicated that the team is motivated to improve on last season’s exit from the competition. He added that having been at the late Alex Shakoane’s funeral on Tuesday, they will be playing in his for his memory and it will be important for the squad to leave everything on the field when they play on Saturday in order to give themselves a chance to advance to the finals.
“One thing that the coach told us at the beginning of the season was that this group of players needs to write its own history, and I think that we have given ourselves a chance to do that. Getting the second star is something that is big in our minds and hearts, this is the big fish. Nobody is going to distract us, we know the mission and what we need to do to accomplish it”, said Kekana as he expressed the significance of winning the Champions League.
With game day soon approaching, Grant relayed that the Brazilians are motivated and understand that Wydad is also a big team. He acknowledged that it’s going to be a defending task against the defending champions, but they are determined to fight and come out with a victory at home.
Mamelodi Sundowns will face Wydad AC on Saturday, 20 May 2023 for the 2nd leg of the Champions League semi-final. The fixture will take place at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium and will kick off at 15h00.
SOURCED FROM THE CLUB’S WEBSITE.
ant Kekana on the CAF Champions League Assignment
