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Cape Town - Al-Ahly Shendi of Sudan defeated SuperSport United 3-2 in their CAF Confederation Cup first-leg tie at the El Shendi Stadium on Saturday evening.
The Sudanese outfit did all the attacking in the opening stages and should've taken the lead as early as the second minute if only their forward could find the target.
The visitors struggled to get into their rhythm but almost found the back of the net against the run of play in the 7th minute, when Grant Kekana's ball from the right flank found Aubrey Modiba unmarked in the area, only for the South Africa international winger to direct his header straight at the goalkeeper.
SuperSport’s Thuso Phala looked lively and his pace and trickery troubled Nemor Dar Gaal on a few occasions, but his final delivery into the area often proved poor.
Stuart Baxter opted for an attacking substitution in the second-half when he introduced forward Jeremy Brockie for defender Morgan Gould, signalling his intention to go for the victory but the home side continued their dominance.
Lassaad Maamar's side eventually broke the deadlock in the 62nd when they were awarded a penalty, which was subsequently slotted away and the goal injected the home side with more confidence as they went in search of their second goal.
Shendi were duly rewarded in the 71st minute when defender Khtab Faisal was in the right place to swoop home.
The South African Premiership side threw numbers forward in search of the away goal, but it was their opponents who came closest to adding another in the 81st minute. However, young goalkeeper Pule saved his side's blushes with a terrific stop.
Defender Mario Booysen managed to find a consolation for the visitors when he slotted home substitute Kingston Nkhatha's low cross, only for the home side to restore their two goal advantage moments later, as Baxter's side fell asleep at the back.
The high-tempo end-to end football didn't end there, as Baxter's troops found a vital second away goal in stoppage-time courtesy of substitute Brockie.
The defeat was their first loss in ten games across all competitions.
The second-leg will be played next weekend in Tshwane.
