Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies’ title defence went back on track on Wednesday afternoon after the reigning champions secured a commanding 4-0 win over Central Bank of Ethiopia.

Following their shock 1-0 loss to Egyptian debutants, FC Masar on Saturday, the South Africans re-grouped to put up a strong performance against the Ethiopians who were no match for the class of Masandawana.

Sundowns’ strong signal of intent was evident in the opening half with all four of their goals coming in the first stanza courtesy of a Melinda Kgadiete brace, as well as a goal a piece by Joyce Rabale and the speedy Lelona Daweti.

The early goals rubber-stamped what was a one-sided affair in the match, with Sundowns dominating and enjoying a lion’s share of the possession, with very little threat from the Ethiopian side.

With this being their second consecutive loss following their crushing 3-0 defeat to TP Edo Queens, the loss to Sundowns spells the end of CBE’s debut in the CAF Women’s Champions League.

For the reigning champions on the other side, they receive a much-needed lifeline ahead of the crucial decider on Saturday where they will face Edo Queens to determine whether they continue with their title defence in Morocco.   

Edo Queens remain tops in Group B of the CAF Women’s League after a goalless draw with Egypt’s FC Masar on Wednesday night.

But despite the lead into the last match day of the group, qualification is far from being assured as an earlier match of defending champions, Mamelodi Sundowns beating Central Bank of Ethiopia by 4-0 has complicated matters for the Nigerian side.

While a draw could see them through into the next knockout stage, they are meeting the defending champions, Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa on Saturday.

Should they lose, they could crash out while Mamelodi will get six points as against four which Edo Queens currently have.

FC Masar on the other hand, also with four points but with a lower goal aggregate may likely get the edge, facing the punching bag of the group, Central Bank of Ethiopia.

Edo Queens beat Central Bank of Ethiopia 3-0 on Sunday. Mamelodi Sundowns also on Wednesday evening beat the Ethiopians 4-0. Thus, the Ethiopians are technically out and  may not present strong opposition to FC Masr.

This is the second meeting between Nigerian clubs and Egyptian clubs at the finals, the only previous such meeting saw Bayelsa Queens win 3-0 against Wadi Degla in their final group game in 2022. The result saw Bayelsa Queens progress to the last four.

Teams from Nigeria have faced off against teams from North Africa three times at the finals – their record in these games reads W1 L2.

Overall this is the fourth meeting between teams from Nigeria and North Africa at the finals. In addition to Bayelsa Queens’ win over Wadi Degla, AS FAR defeated Rivers Angels 3-0 in their opening group game in 2021. AS FAR also defeated Bayelsa Queens in the 2022 Semi-finals winning 1-0.

Edo Queens FC

·      Edo Queens are Nigeria’s third participant at the finals after Rivers Angels and Bayelsa Queens.

·      Edo Queens won their opening game 3-0 against CBE they are the first team from Nigeria to win their opening game at the finals in 2021 Rivers and Angels lost 3-0 to AS FAR and in 2022 Bayelsa Queens lost 2-1 to Sundowns.

·      Edo Queens recorded the joint biggest win by a Nigerian club at the finals along with Bayelsa Queens 3-0 win over Wadi Degla at the group stages in 2022.

·      Victory for Edo Queens will see them become the first Nigerian club at the finals to win their opening two games.  

·      Should they not concede Edo Queens will be the first Nigerian club to keep successive clean-sheets in their opening two games.

·      In their opening game against CBE, Edo Queens scored their three goals with six shots on target.

·      In their opening game against CBE, the Nigerian’s managed to complete a game high 505 passes, with a passing accuracy of 78.8%.

·      Of the 641 passes they attempted in their opening game win over CBE, 348 of the passes were in the opposition half.

·      Should either of Edo Queen’s goal scorers Emem Essien, Folashade Ijamilusi or Goodness Osigwe score, they will be the first players to score more than a single goal for a Nigerian club at the finals.

·      Against CBE, the Nigerians had four players who completed at least 50 passes.

·      Miracle Usani attempted 8 crosses in the win over CBE, while Ijamilusi attempted 6 crosses.

FC Masar

·       Masar defeated defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns 1-0 in their opening game, at the finals they are the first team to defeat Sundowns in a group game.

·       Masar are Egypt’s second representatives at the finals, like Wadi Degla in 2021 they won their opening game.

·       Masar’s win over Sundowns ended a five-game losing run for Egyptian clubs at the finals, Wadi Degla lost their final two games in 2021 and all three games in 2022.

·       Masar are the first Egyptian club to keep a clean-sheet at the finals, Wadi Degla had conceded in all of their previous six games at the finals.

·       Masar are the third club from the UNAF region to win their first ever game at the finals along with Wadi Degla and AS FAR in 2021.

·       Victory for Masar will see them become the first Egyptian club to win two successive games at the finals.

·       Should Masar avoid defeat they will be the first Egyptian club at the finals to go undefeated over their first two games at the finals.

·       No team from the UNAF region has ever lost their maiden game at the finals, in addition to the three teams that had won SC Casablanca drew their first game in 2023.

·       In their opening game against Sundowns, Masar managed to complete just 127 passes. The second fewest amongst all teams on Match Day one.