Klate, Dominguez remain key to SuperSport

Wingers Daine Klate and Elias ‘Dominguez’ Pelembe remain key to coach Gavin Hunt's game plan when SuperSport United, the South African Premiership champions take on their Ugandan counterparts, Kampala City Council (KCC), in the first-leg of the 2009 CAF Champions League first-round at the Nakivubo Stadium in Kampala on Friday night.

This, despite the pair being outplayed by Orlando Pirates’ left and right backs in the Nedbank Cup defeat over the weekend.

In that defeat at Ellis Park, Hunt was outwitted by Pirates’ Dutch coach Ruud Krol who man-marked the two wingers while he gave his danger men Teko Modise and Dikgang Mabalane freedom to interchange sides freely and as often as they liked, while speedy ex-player Katlego Mashego kept SuperSport central defence busy.

Krol’s plan worked. And Hunt didn’t seem to have plan B.

However, against KCC, who are naturally inspired by the prospect of facing their national goalkeeper Dennis Onyango, Hunt will need to have plan B should his inspirational players be played out of the game.

For starters, KCC are obviously a stronger team than the Mauritian side Curepipe Starlight SC whom SuperSport easily defeated 8-2 aggregate with a second string side in the preliminaries.

Secondly, Brian Umoy, the Cranes striker of the moment, and his partner Robert Ssantogo form a deadly combination and are the main players to watch as far as KCC is concerned.

Umoy and Ssantogo scored in KCC’s preliminary round aggregate win against Mozambique’s Ferroviaro de Maputo, and again Umoy scored over the weekend for Uganda against Sudan.

Other than closing down the striking duo, with Bafana Bafana defender Morgan Gould probably man-marking Umoy, SuperSport will also need to dominate the midfield, cutting supply to KCC front men while creating opportunities for their own strikers to test KCC inexperienced19-year-old goalkeeper Benjamin Ochan.

SuperSport, despite their struggling striker force, is a better bet to come out of Uganda victorious.

The South African champions have scored 11 goals from eight different players in their six PSL matches since February 2009. Against Curepipe Starlight, five different players shared the eight goals.

SuperSport can also draw on the experiences of current and former international players on their books from at least seven different African countries.

Mozambican international and reigning PSL Player of the Year Dominguez is the club’s leading goal scorer with 8 goals, and may just want to revenge for Ferroviario.

In other CAF inter-club encounters of interest, South Africa’s other representative in the African Champions League Last 32, Ajax Cape Town should have it easy when they welcome Zimbabwe’s Monomotapa United to the Cape Winelands District on Saturday while Mamelodi Sundowns are off to the Indian Ocean Island of Mauritius to face AS Vacoas Phoenix in the CAF Confederation Cup on Sunday.

The return legs are scheduled for the weekend of 03/04/05 April 2009.

The winner between Ajax CT and Monomotapa over two legs will face Asec Mimosas of Cote d’Ivoire or Etoile Filante of Burkina Faso, while SuperSport/KCC will face winner of Ittihad (Lybia) vs. Merrikh (Sudan) in the Last 16 before the lucrative group stages.

Sundowns, on the other hand, have Malanthi Chiefs of Swaziland or former CAF Champions League winners ASV Club of DRC waiting for them.

Last 16 first legs scheduled for weekend of 17/18/19 April 2009 and 2nd legs on 01/02/03 May 2009.

Orlando Pirates remain the first and only South African club to win the CAF Champions League competition (1995), while Kaizer Chiefs won the now merged CAF Confederation Cup in 2002 (then known as the Cup Winners’ Cup).

The CAF Champions League replaced the African Champions Cup in 1997, while in 2004 the African Cup Winners’ Cup merged with the CAF Cup, to form the CAF Confederation Cup.

• The provisions on article 4 paragraph 3 of the CAF Champions League regulations are now in application.

TV Times/Fixtures
• Friday, 13 March: Kampala City Council (Uganda) vs. SuperSport United (SA)
From Nakivubo Stadium, Kampala. Kick-Off at 16h00 (SA time)
• Saturday, 14 March: Ajax Cape Town (SA) vs. Monomotapa United (Zimbabwe)
Live from Boland Rugby Stadium in Wellington on SABC1 from 16h00 (SA time)
• Sunday, 15 March: AS Vacoas Phoenix (Mauritius) vs. Mamelodi Sundowns (SA)
From Sir Gaetan Duval Stadium, Rose Hill. Kick-Off at 17h30 (SA time)

Broadcast times are subject to change without notice. For the full, updated broadcast schedule go to www.supersport.co.za or www.sabcsport.co.za

Website information:
CAF | Champions League
SuperSport | TV Times
SABC | TV Times