Cape Town - Mamelodi Sundowns again flew the South African flag with distinction as it secured passage to the CAF Champions League play-offs with a dramatic draw against the Sudanese giants Al Hilal in Sudan, on Saturday afternoon.
On the local front, South Africa's glamour side Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates both claimed victories although neither was convincing.
Herman R Gibbs looks at the highs and lows of soccer's weekend offerings.
Sundowns remain unbeaten in Africa
All the pre-match speculation that was that Sundowns would deliberately lose against Al Hilal came to nought.
It would have made good sense for Sundowns to lose because that would mean that the 10-time African champions Al Ahly would fail to reach the Champions League play-offs. Sundowns may have beaten Al Ahly soundly 5-2 but that does not guarantee that they will defeat the crack Egyptian side again in the near future.
Sundowns have a poor record in the Champions League play-offs whereas Al Ahly has far and away the best record by any African side.
Just when it seemed Sundowns were going to lose the match, goalkeeper Ronwen Williams saved a last-minute penalty.
Al Ahly now has their fate in their hands in the final group match next month.
Chiefs let it slip but then recover to claim victory
Kaizer Chiefs ran up a 2-0 lead after only 10 minutes of play and seemed set for a comfortable win.
Maritzburg United had other ideas and helped by Chiefs' poor defence, they scored twice ahead of the halftime break for a two-all stalemate. It was a stout fightback by Maritzburg who could have had one more goal in the first half if Lady Luck was on their side.
Neither side could capitalise on numerous scoring opportunities until that famous Chiefs ally, the 'penalty', came to their rescue once again. Midfielder Yusuf Maart scored a controversial penalty 14 minutes from the end and the 'spot kick' proved to be the decider.
Did you know that Chiefs have had nine penalties this season?
Despite the win, the Chiefs coach Arthur Zwane was not a happy chappie, and he said so afterwards.
Here's what Arthur Zwane had to say about Kaizer Chiefs hard-fought win over Maritzburg and the impact of the international break on his team.
— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) March 19, 2023
Pirates on course for an African safari
The victory against SuperSport United was Pirates' third win in a row across all competitions. If they keep that winning momentum until the end of the Premiership season they will join Sundowns in next year's CAF Champions League campaign.
For now, the Buccaneers remain in third place on the league standings with 37 points. SuperSport will stay put in second having collected 39 points with both sides having played 23 games.
Tapelo Xoki, the former AmaZulu dead-ball specialist, stepped up to take a penalty for Pirates late in the second half. He was a surprise choice for the spot-kick because there were players in the side that had taken care of penalty duties before.
Much like his Chiefs counterpart Zwane, Pirates' Jose Riveiro was an unhappy coach after the team didn't stick to their game plan and made heavy weather of the win.
Ruthless Galaxy put Richards Bay to the sword
Richards Bay, aka the Natal Rich Boys, remained sixth on the standings after recording their fifth successive league defeat.
This time they were defeated by TS Galaxy who has climbed into the top eight on the league standings after securing an emphatic 4-0 victory.
Richards Bay started well. However, once they leaked two goals Galaxy upped the ante and added two more to wrap up a 4-0 win.
Richards Bay will do well to use the international break to fix their leaky defence and try to turn things around when they resume their Premiership campaign against Pirates in April.
Marumo Gallants ever so gallant in Africa
South African debutants Marumo Gallants made it through to the quarter-finals of the CAF Confederation Cup despite suffering a 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Libya’s Al Akhdar on Sunday.
The result could have been different after two Gallants' goals in the second half were disallowed.
Gallants were assured of a place in the last eight even before kick-off after the second-placed USM Alger had played to a 1-1 draw with St Eloi Lupopo who are third. Gallants are on nine points, with a four-point buffer to third place with one round left in the group.
Gallants' form in Africa has been baffling because they are rock-bottom on the standings in the domestic arena and look dead certs to relegated with seven Premiership rounds remaining.
@Herman_Gibbs