Al Ahly Secure A Crucial Win in Kinshasa
Al Ahly achieved a crucial 3-0 victory over AS Vita Club of the Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday in Matchday 4 of the CAF Champions League group stage.
The Red Eagles took a huge step towards securing a spot in the quarter-finals after achieving an important win at the Stade des Martyrs in Kinshasa.
Mohamed Sherif and Mohamed Magdy Afsha gave the Red Eagles an early lead with two goals in the 6th minute and the 19th minute, respectively, while Taher Mohamed Taher secured the three points after scoring from inside the box, 12 minutes before the final whistle.
Al Ahly are now second in the group with 7 points, three points behind the group leaders, Simba SC, who defeated Al Merrikh SC of Sudan 3-0. AS Vita Club are third with 4 points, while Al Merrikh SC remain at the bottom of the table with 1 point.
Al Ahly had a perfect game against the Congolese side, with our players dominating the match from the start by putting on impressive attacking and defensive display.
Early Pressing
From the beginning of the match, the hunger and the desire of our players were evident in the game, causing the Red Eagles to win the match and the three points.
Al Ahly started the match with a frontline pressure from our attackers. Afsha played in the right wing and Junior Ajayi played on the left flank behind our strikers.
In the opening minute of the match, Sherif had an early chance but his shot missed the target.
Opening Goal
Our players tried to find crackers in the opponent’s defense to get an early lead and we got what we wanted after six minutes from the start by Sherif with an impressive finish.
Afsha had a chance to double the score after receiving a perfect pass from Marwan Mohsen but his shot went over the bar.
Minutes went by with our players dominating midfield and Marwan Mohsen had a clear chance but his shot ended in the hands of the home team’s goalkeeper.
Afsha’s Goal
Afsha added the second goal in the match with a sensational individual effort. He received the ball in the right side, dribbled passed the defender and struck a powerful shot off the bottom of the post and into the net.
Impressive Defensive Performance
With Al Ahly leading the game 2-0 after 20 minutes, our players closed all the spaces and stopped all the attacking attempts of AS Vita Club.
The home team counted on crosses but the strong defensive partnership of Badr Benoun and Yasser Ibrahim and the excellent vision of Mohamed Hany formed a solid defensive line against Vita Club’s attackers.
The Congolese side had a chance to narrow the score but their right winger’s shot hit the bar.
Minutes went by and the referee blew the final whistle of the first half with the Red Eagles leading the game 2-0.
Second Half
Our head coach Pitso Mosimane used his bench at half time as Taher Mohamed Taher replaced Sherif, who suffered a minor injury in the first half.
Vita Club’s attempts continued with our defense putting a steady performance to keep our lead in the match.
In the 62th minute, Walter Bwalya joined the game instead of Marwan, who had a fantastic match and deserved Mosimane’s applause after the substitution.
Our substitutes had an intense impact onto the match as Bwalya received the ball on the edge of the box, waited until he saw Taher’s run and gave him a fantastic pass to help Taher net our third goal and secure a precious win for the Red Eagles.
Mini Match
Venue:
Stade des Martyrs
Referee:
Joshua Bondo
Al Ahly’s starting line-up:
Mohamed El Shenawy - Mohamed Hany - Yasser Ibrahim - Badr Benoun - Ayman Ashraf - Aliou Dieng - Amr El Soulia - Mohamed Magdy Afsha - Junior Ajayi - Mohamed Sherif and Marwan Mohsen.
Substitutions:
Mohamed Sherif (Taher Mohamed Taher)
Marwan Mohsen (Walter Bwalya)
Ayman Ashraf (Ahmed Ramadan Beckham)
Afsha (Hamdy Fathy)
Juniro Ajayi (Hussien El Shahat)
Goals:
6’ Mohamed Sherif
19’ Afsha
78’ Taher Mohamed Taher
Yellow Cards:
52’ Ayman Ashraf
Next Game:
Al Ahly are set to face Sudan’s Al Merrikh on 2 April in Matchday 5 of the CAF Champions League group stage.
