Mamelodi coach Mosimane wary of Rayon threat

Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Pitso Mosimane has said that he expects a big hurdle against Rayon Sports in the first leg of CAF Champions League first round clash against Rayon Sports on Wednesday at Amahoro National Stadium. The South African side won the competition in 2016. “Rayon Sports are a good team, and we expect them to give us hard time. We have to respect them because we know it will be hard to win here,” Mosimane told Times Sport. He added that, “The Champions League for us is another thing. It’s another cup for us. We are coming to Rwanda to win but we know Rayon Sports will also come into the game to win, so it’s going to be an interesting match-up.” Mamelodi jetted into the country on Saturday ahead of Wednesday’s clash. The 42-member delegation is staying at Marriot Hotel. The return-leg will be played a week later in South Africa. Mosimane admitted that the first leg game is vital and he expects his players to give everything to get a result before finishing the job in the second leg with hope of qualifying to the group stages. Rayon Sports eliminated Lydia Ludic of Burundi in the preliminary round with a 2-1 aggregate win but they will play Wednesday’s game without suspended key central defender Thierry Manzi. Winners of the first round will be placed into four groups of four teams. Losers will be drawn in a play-off round where winners are expected to be placed into four groups of four teams in Confederation Cup group stages. After a round-robin of matches (home and away), the top two in each group will qualify for the quarter-finals, which opens a new phase of knockout matches till the final. editorial@newtimes.co.rw