It was a mixed weekend for COSAFA clubs in the CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup, but Mamelodi Sundowns got their campaign in the elite competition off to a positive start.

The 2016 Champions League winners came through a difficult home pool opener against Al-Hilal of Sudan with a 2-0 victory thanks to goals from Mosa Lebusa and Kermit Erasmus, though they spurned numerous opportunities to make the scoreline more empathic.

It was not such a good outing for Angola’s Petro Atletico, who lost 2-0 at Horoya and had Joaquim Adao sent off towards the end of the first half.

South Africa’s Kaizer Chiefs should find out on Monday where their pool opener against Wydad Casablanca will be played, with the Moroccans suggesting it will be in Cairo somewhere between Tuesday and Saturday this week.

Another Soweto giant, Orlando Pirates, eased to a 3-0 away win over Botswana’s Jwaneng Galaxy in the first leg of their Confederation Cup play-off tie and will be favourites to complete the job in the return. Thulani Hlatshwayo, Linda Mntambo and Jean-Marc Mundele all scored for Pirates.

Zambian Champions Nkana FC eased to a 2-0 home win over TAS Casablanca thanks to goals in each half from Freddy Tshimenga and Obed Masumbuko. The fact they did not concede an away goal could be crucial in the return.

Another Zambian side, NAPSA Stars, claimed an excellent 1-0 away win at Gor Mahia in Kenya as Ghanaian Daniel Adoko was on target for them.

Zimbabwe’s Platinum FC are up against it though as they fell to a 1-0 home loss to Jeraaf from Senegal, while Young Buffaloes from Eswatini lost 2-1 at home to Tunisian giants Etoile du Sahel.

The return legs of those matches are set for this coming weekend.