Marcelo Allende lifted the lid on one of Mamelodi Sundowns‘ preparation tricks ahead of their historic 1-0 CAF Champions League semi-final first-leg victory over Espérance Sportive de Tunis – as the club’s technical staff piped crowd noise through speakers during training sessions to condition the players for the hostile atmosphere at the Stade Olympique Hammadi Agrebi.
In the build-up to Sunday’s clash, training sessions took on an unusual twist, with recordings of Espérance’s ultras blasted through speakers to simulate the cauldron-like matchday atmosphere and judging by the result, it worked.
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Sundowns returned to South Africa with a slender but crucial away advantage after a second-half goal from Brayan León proved the difference, with Masandawana finishing the match with 10 men after a late red card for Grant Kekana.
Sundowns’ temperament was certainly tested in the hostile environment in Radès, where a partisan crowd were fully behind the home team and utilising their trademark lasers in a bid to distract the opposition.
But Allende, who has been a key figure throughout Sundowns’ continental campaign, said the squad drew heavily on their experience of the fixture to stay composed when it mattered most.
“We know the crowd here, we have experience playing against Esperance, away – last year we played here, we know the fans are coming for us, but we kept strong and for this, we come with a win from the game,” he said.
“We’ve played here, we know the majority of the players, we know the type of game we played and showed on the pitch to get a big result.
“The atmosphere was amazing, every player wants to play in this type of crowds. We have big respect for the fans.”
The result was a milestone moment for the club. Sundowns beat Espérance in Tunisia for the first time ever.
In the 51st minute, Sundowns silenced the home crowd with a brilliant team goal – a lofted diagonal pass from Jayden Adams to the right of the penalty area picked out the run of Thapelo Morena, who volleyed a perfectly-weighted cross to find León, and the Colombian headed home from close range.
Espérance thought they had levelled the game in the 65th minute, but a VAR review revealed that goalkeeper Ronwen Williams had taken an elbow to the head from Hamza Jelassi in the build-up, leading to the goal being ruled out — much to the anger of the home supporters.
Allende said the victory was a collective effort built on team spirit and discipline, with the tie still very much alive heading into the second leg at Loftus Versfeld this Saturday.
“We were happy with the result, we showed team spirit — we fight until the final whistle. We know Esperance is a strong team, so we need to keep focused and play from the first whistle in Pretoria,” he said.
“We are ready for the second game. It’s a week of recovery and preparation for the game, but we will be with our people [fans]. The game is still open for both teams, there’s another game to play, we need to finish the game with our people.”
Allende has been a pivotal part of Sundowns’ CAF Champions League campaign, playing 739 minutes in 11 matches and contributing one goal during the group stages.
The second leg takes place at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, with Sundowns needing at least a draw to qualify for a second consecutive CAF Champions League final.
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