Mamelodi Sundowns defeated Petro de Luanda 2-0 in the quarter-final first-leg of the African Football League on Saturday evening.
Having missed the Carling Knockout defeat to TS Galaxy due to national team duty, Williams, Mothobi Mvala, Khuliso Mudau, Aubrey Modiba, Grant Kekana, Teboho Mokoena and Themba Zwane were welcomed back by Masandawana.
Mokoena got the Brazilians on the up in the opening stages when his header from a free-kick shaved the far post before Junior Mendieta's snap-shot on the edge of the area deflected behind.
As Sundowns continued to grow in confidence, the host sprung a decent opening after a run down the line by Gilberto saw Alexandre Guedes pounce to bring a point-blank save off Williams.
Gilberto remained a problem for the South African champions on the half-hour mark as he attacked a pin-point corner to head into the side-netting.
Petro were handed a penalty after Jonathan Toro beat Mvala to a cross eight minutes to halftime, but Williams smothered Gilberto from the spot and courted the rebound too to keep the score goalless.
The match continued to be tightly balanced following the second half, with a lot of battles in midfield and a sustained spell of possession turnovers.
Sundowns started to have more forward momentum though and took the lead when a reverse pass from a tight angle released Marcelo Allende who controlled to fire in the top corner.
Masandawana enjoyed the lion share of play late on and introduced Thapelo Maseko as well as Gaston Sirinio ahead of Zwane and Mendieta.
Maseko made an instant impact when he beat goalkeeper Hugo Marques to a long ball and went clear to find an empty net.
The Angolan outfit looked for a consolation ahead of the return-leg scheduled for Tuesday in South Africa, but the Brazilians closed shop and bagged the win
Confirmed line-ups:
Petro: Marques, Pinto, Miguel, Eddie, Kinito, Soares, Carlinhos, Alexandre Guedes, Toro, Cruz, Gilberto
Mamelodi Sundowns: Williams, Mvala, Boutouil, Mudau, Modiba, Kekana, Mkhulise, Zwane, Allende, Mendieta
Subs: D.Onyango, De Reuck, Lebusa, B.Onyango, Nku, Zungu, Sirino, Mashego, Mabena, Maseko, Maema, Coetzee
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