Cape Town - DStv Premiership basement dwellers Marumo Gallants came within a whisker of winning their CAF Confederation Cup quarter-final first-leg clash against Pyramids in Cairo on Sunday evening.
The referee handed the Cairo-based Pyramids a lifeline in injury time with a penalty which left-wing Ramadan Sobhi netted for an eventual 1-all scoreline.
Gallants' form in the continental competition continues to astound and for most of the way, they looked like winners against Pyramids who are former Confederation Cup finalists. And Gallants are in their first season in Africa.
The penalty came about after defensive midfielder Sibusiso Khumalo raised his hands as he tried to block a goalmouth cross from Egypt defender Mohamed Sharaf at point-blank range. Khumalo's action suggested he has expected the ball to hit him around the midriff area but instead, it struck his hand higher up and resulted in a late penalty.
Although the Egyptians dominated possession Gallants looked dangerous when they managed to reverse the flow of the match. It remains a mystery how Gallants can strike up cohesion on attack in Africa but on the domestic front, they are very ordinary.
The thrust of Gallants' transitions was causing Pyramids problems all evening and they committed fouls to thwart the entries into their half. They committed a total of 15 fouls and that suggests they fouled six minutes into the match. Gallants had eight fouls.
Gallants had to settle for a meagre 39% possession, but they exerted pressure whenever they made final third entries. As a result, Pyramids conceded six corners, whereas Gallants gave away four to a team who had enjoyed a whopping 61% possession advantage.
Dangerman Ranga Chivaviro scored the lone goal for Gallants 10 minutes after the restart.
They jealously guarded the lead until the dying minutes of the game but were undone by a penalty.
The 30-year-old scored his fifth goal in the competition after a header into the net in the 55th minute when he left his marker to head home a Lucky Mohomi corner.
It was a brilliant start to the second half after the opening 45 yielded few clear-cut scoring chances.
The second leg will be played at Dobsonville, in Soweto, on Sunday evening and Gallants will enjoy the advantage of an away goal.
@Herman_Gibbs