Wydad experience conquered Mamelodi Sundowns quality - Sven Vandenbroeck

Vandenbroeck was speaking after guiding his team to a hard-fought 2-all draw against Sundowns at the Loftus stadium, a second-leg result that saw them advance to the final on an away goal rule. The Belgian-born coach says they came to this game very prepared.

"I always said after the first leg that the 0-0 draw is a difficult score for both. We reduced the space in the first half to surprise them in the second half with more pressure forward but once they scored, I think they doubted what we do. We go forward for the second one but we don't concede. That's when the mental game started. We were well prepared and I think in the end it's the experience that wins from a little bit more quality on the Sundowns' side," he said.

The defending champions will now meet record 10x champions Al Ahly in a repeat of last year’s final, with the first leg scheduled for Cairo on the third of next month and Casablanca to host the 2nd leg the following weekend.

This game was always going to be about the finer margins and in the end, that’s what Wydad did, and Vandenbroeck says the players deserve great praise for carrying out the tactical plan.

"I have to congratulate my players with a great, great mentality to play for the team. To go down in the first half to play on our own half is also mental because normally we are used to playing high and dominant. They changed their mindset very well, so I'm very pleased," the coach explained.

Vandenbroeck, a former Zambian national team head coach and ASFAR Rabat head coach arrived at Wydad after they had beaten Simba Sports Club in the quarterfinals to proceed to the semis. Now in his third week at the club, he says the performance of his players in this game, surprised him.

"I came in two weeks ago and when I spoke to people in the club, there was a lot of negativities in the team. I have to say that in two weeks' time, they reunited again, and you see in the two games that it was really a team on the pitch. Maybe in the first game, they surprised me because I expected a little bit more quality in possession and today, they astonished me in their mentality and also in the score."