Al Ahly Secure an Important 2-0 Win at Home over Sundowns

Al Ahly achieved a 2-0 win over South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns in the first leg of the CAF Champions League quarter-finals at Al Ahly WE Al Salam Stadium.

Taher Mohamed Taher and Salah Mohsen scored our goals in the game, giving us a significant advantage ahead of the second leg in South Africa, scheduled next Saturday.

The VAR was much-needed in the game, which saw many controversial decisions against the home team.

First Half

We entered the game with high pressure, trying to find cracks in the opposition’s defense. After three minutes from the start, our striker Mohamed Sherif was tackled inside the opponent’s penalty area but the referee did not give a penalty.

The South African side tried to block all our attacking attempts and they started to go forward, searching for the opening goal.

Mamelodi Sundowns striker Gift Motupa was close to score the opening goal in the game, but his header hit the post and went wide.

We were attacking from both sides and our efforts paid off as Taher Mohamed Taher opened the score from a fantastic screamer, giving the Red Eagles the lead after 23 minutes.  

The minutes went by with several attempts from our players to add the second goal and the referee, strangely, did not give us a penalty after the opponent’s goalkeeper committed a clear foul against Sherif.

Second Half

At half-time, our coach Pitso Mosimane took Ramy Rabia off at half-time as he received a yellow card in the first half and he was replaced by Yasser Ibrahim.    

It was clear that our players are not in their best fitness condition due to the busy schedule in the domestic league and our coach decided to make another four changes as Salah Mohsen, Junior Ajayi, Mahmoud Wahid, and Walter Bwalya replaced Hussein El Shahat, Taher, Ayman Ashraf, and Sherif.

Four minutes before the final whistle, Salah Mohsen received the ball, dribbled the defender, and sent a perfect cross, but he was unlucky as Afsha failed to reach it.

Three minutes later, Salah doubled the score in the game as he was in the right place to meet a beautiful long-range pass from Ajayi that tricked the goalkeeper, giving our winger the chance to double the score, one minute before the final whistle.

The final minutes went by and the referee blew his final whistle to announce a 2-0 win for the Red Eagles.

Mini Match

Venue: Al Ahly WE Al Salam Stadium

Referee: Maguette N'Diaye from Senegal

Al Ahly’s Starting Line-up:
Mohamed El Shenawy, Mohamed Hany, Ayman Ashraf, Badr Benoun, Ramy Rabia, Amr El Soulia, Aliou Dieng, Mohamed Magdy Afsha, Hussein El Shahat, Taher Mohamed Taher, and Mohamed Sherif.

Subs:
Ali Lotfy, Mahmoud Wahid, Yasser Ibrahim, Ahmed Ramadan Beckham, Mahmoud Kahraba, Walid Soliman, Junior Ajayi, Salah Mohsen, Walter Bwalya. 

Substitutions:
Yasser Ibrahim (Rabia)
Salah Mohsen (El Shahat)
Junior Ajayi (Taher)
Mahmoud Wahid (Ayman)
Walter Bwalya (Sherif)

Goals:
Taher Mohamed Taher ’23
Salah Mohsen ’89

Yellow Cards:
Ramy Rabia
Badr Benoun
Ayman Ashraf
Sphelele Mkhulise (Mamelodi Sundowns)

Next Game:
The second leg against Mamelodi Sundowns in South Africa on Saturday 22 May.