Mamelodi Sundowns women's coach Jerry Tshabalala hopes her team will one day play at a Club World Cup following their 3-0 victory in the Caf women's Champions League final against Morocco's Casablanca on Sunday.
A brace from top scorer Tholakele Refilwe and Boitumelo Rabale's strike earned the South Africans victory in Cote d'Ivoire as they reclaimed the title they relinquished last year.
“When you see me happy, I try to rub it onto my players. A happy player will always deliver results for the team. We want to keep on doing good. Now the target, we are hoping that one day we will have a (Women’s) Club World Cup and we will go represent as the African champions," Tshabalala said.
The South Africans' impressive run in Cote d’Ivoire not only sees them reclaim the title they lost to AS FAR last season, but they set a record of lifting the title without conceding a single goal enroute to glory.
This was the second meeting for the two sides in the tournament after meeting in the group stages where Sundowns emerged 1-0 victors.
With a clear mission of reclaiming the title, Sundowns wasted no time in getting numbers forward and were rewarded a 21st minute penalty that was converted by Refilwe.
Minutes later, Rabale fired the South Africans to a two-goal lead before the break from the edge of the box with a clinical finish that found the bottom corner.
Coming back from the recess, the Moroccans tried getting back into the contest but were met by a resolute Sundowns defense that frustrated each of their attacks.
With momentum on their side, the South Africans put the cherry on top with Tholakele’s 78th minute finish to officially put the match beyond reach for the Moroccans and seal a second CAF Women’s Champions League title for Sundowns, which is accompanied by a $400,000 winner’s prize cheque.