The result leaves the Malian champions with a mountain to climb in next week\u2019s return leg in Bamako, where they must score at least three unanswered goals to force a penalty shootout.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Two of Sundowns\u2019 goals were initially ruled offside by the assistant referee before VAR overturned the decisions, a sequence that left Njoya displeased.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is so much progress to make in the level of VAR because we take two goals which are not goals. The referee denied goals, but VAR said it is goal,\u201d Njoya said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Despite the setback, the Cameroonian coach insisted the tie is far from over. \u201cIt is not the end of the world. We are going to play them in Bamako. They have scored three goals here; we can score three goals too. We are not crying about that.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Njoya also rejected suggestions that Sundowns\u2019 experience or superior quality was the decisive factor in the defeat. Instead, he argued that his own side contributed to the result.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I have given more points to Mamelodi Sundowns to avoid what you are saying. It is not because of their experience or because they were stronger than us,\u201d he insisted. \u201cIt is football; it can happen. The next match will not be the same as this, I promise you that.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Stade Malien now face a daunting task but remain confident of a turnaround in front of their home supporters. \u201cWe are going to win the match in Bamako, even 3\u20130 to go to penalty kicks, or I don\u2019t know, but we have to score many goals,\u201d Njoya said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The second leg is scheduled for next weekend in the Malian capital, where Sundowns will look to defend their commanding lead and secure a semifinal place, while Stade Malien aim to stage a dramatic comeback.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–SABC Sport\/Channel Africa–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":28764,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[20],"class_list":["post-28763","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-sport","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"Stade Malien Coach Mauril Njoya expressed strong frustration with the use of VAR after his side\u2019s 3\u20130 defeat to South Africa's (SA) Mamelodi Sundowns in the first leg of their CAF Champions League quarterfinal at Loftus Versfeld on Friday night. ","published_date":"","news_description":"Stade Malien Coach Mauril Njoya expressed strong frustration with the use of VAR after his side\u2019s 3\u20130 defeat to South Africa's (SA) Mamelodi Sundowns in the first leg of their CAF Champions League quarterfinal at Loftus Versfeld on Friday night. ","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/28763","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/28763\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28765,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/28763\/revisions\/28765"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28764"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28763"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=28763"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}