Ten-man Pyramids hold African champions Sundowns in Pretoria
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A resilient Pyramids side held Mamelodi Sundowns to a goalless draw in their TotalEnergies CAF Champions League clash in Pretoria on Sunday despite playing the final nine minutes with 10 men.
The battling Egyptian outfit frustrated the South African hosts for long spells and were unfortunate not to snatch a winner themselves late on at Loftus Versfeld Stadium.
Sundowns saw a second-half Peter Shalulile strike ruled out for offside as their underwhelming start to their title defence continued.
Pyramids remain bottom of Group A but are now level on four points with opponents who failed to capitalise on their chances to go top.
The other sides in the group are also on four points which makes the group delicately poised.
The visitors faced an early blow when Karim Hafez was denied an opener for a foul in the build-up.
And despite losing defender Osama Galal to a late red card, Pyramids stood firm to return home with a hard-earned point.
Ramadan Sobhi forced an early stop from Sundowns keeper Denis Onyango, while Ahmed El-Shenawy twice denied lively striker Shalulile.
At the other end, Mosa Lebusa and El-Shenawy almost scored comical own goals for either side in an open, end-to-end clash.
Sundowns will be frustrated not to take advantage of their late numerical superiority as goal-shy Pyramids continued to threaten a winner.
But a share of the spoils keeps both teams in the hunt to reach the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League quarter-finals heading into their final three pool games.
