Mamelodi Sundowns were forced to settle for a frustrating 2-2 draw against Al-Hilal Omdurman in their CAF Champions League Group C encounter, despite dominating large spells of the match.

The Brazilians went into the game as overwhelming favourites and showed their attacking intent from the onset, but it was the visitors who struck first against the run of play. Abdel Raouf stunned the home crowd in the 15th minute when he finished clinically to give Al-Hilal an early lead.

Sundowns responded in the manner of champions and were back on level terms just seven minutes later. Arthur Sales made no mistake in the 22nd minute, putting the ball at the back of the net after a fine assist from Nuno Santos to restore parity.

The hosts continued to control possession and tempo, probing for a breakthrough, but had to wait until the second half to get their reward. In the 64th minute, Teboho Mokoena fired Sundowns into the lead with a well-taken strike following a neat assist from Thapelo Matthews, sending the home supporters into celebration and seemingly putting the South Africans on course for all three points.

However, Al-Hilal refused to go away. With just under 20 minutes remaining, Abdel Raouf struck again to complete his brace in the 71st minute, finishing off a move created by A. Coulibaly to silence the stadium and level the score at 2-2.

Despite relentless late pressure from Sundowns, including several half-chances and sustained possession in the final third, the Sudanese side held firm to secure a valuable away point.

The result leaves Sundowns ruing missed opportunities on a night they enjoyed the lion’s share of possession and territory, while Al-Hilal will take confidence from a resilient performance and the clinical finishing of their two-goal hero, Abdel Raouf, in what proved to be an entertaining and hard-fought Champions League encounter.