South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns were left deflated by a late goal as Pyramids FC of Egypt salvaged a dramatic 1-1 draw in the CAF Champions League final first leg clash at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria on Saturday night.
Following a goalless first half, the Brazilians broke the deadlock eight minutes in the second half through Lucas Ribeiro, as the forward latched on to the rebound to score from just outside the six-yard box after his initial effort on goal was pushed back to his path.
The 2016 African champions looked set to take a slender lead into the return leg in two weeks’ time until disaster struck for them in the 94th minute when Mohamed Lasheen’s cross found Walid ElKarty, who headed past goalkeeper Ronwen Williams to spark wild celebrations from the visitors.
Krunoslav Jurcic’s side are in contention to end the season with a treble, as they tussle with Cairo rivals, Al Ahly, for the Egyptian league title and have a date against another Cairo rival, Zamalek, early next month in the Egyptian Cup final.