. SuperSport
United were unable to claim their first African trophy as they were held 0-0 by
DRC giants TP Mazembe in the second leg of the Caf Confederation Cup final on
Saturday night.
The result at the Lucas Moripe Stadium in
Tshwane allowed the Ravens to claim a 2-1 aggregate triumph and defend the
prize they won for the first time last year.
Mazembe began strongly and looked to take the
game to United rather than sit back and defend their lead. Their positive
attitude should have paid dividends in the 10th minute when Rainford Kalaba
sprung the offside trap, but faced with only the goalkeeper to beat he struck
his shot wildly over the target.
Four minutes later Kalaba did some fine work
down the left flank to get to the byline and pull a dangerous ball back, but
Daniel Nii Adjei somehow shot wide of the near post when it seemed easier to
score.
United took some time to get a foothold in the
game, but it was a sign of their growing strength that they had a goal ruled
out - correctly - for offside just before the half hour mark, as Tefu
Mashamaite found the net with a diving header from Dean Furman’s cross.
The hosts made a change at the start of the second half, as they
introduced Grant Kekana in place of the injured Siyabonga Nhlapo, and they
created the first clear chance after the restart when a corner kick was flicked
on by Clayton Daniels and just missed by both Mashamaite and Bradley Grobler