Al Ahly lost 1-0 to Sundowns of South Africa at Loftus Stadium in Pretoria, in the first leg of the semi-finals of the African League.
The match was strong and full of competition, we were cautious in some periods of attacking with a heavy numerical intensity in order to close all the gaps in front of the Sundowns team.
The Red Eagles are set to face Sundowns again next Wednesday in the second leg match, which will be held at Cairo International Stadium.
First Half
The match started strong and enthusiastic, and we sought from the beginning to impose control over the midfield, relying on the movements of Percy Tau on the right side, and Reda Slim on the left side, behind Salah Mohsen.
In the 30th minute, from a perfect cross, the ball reached our penalty area and Aubrey Modiba shot it with a perfect header, but El Shenawy, with his agility and alertness, was able to catch the ball and turn it into a corner kick.
The last minutes of the first half witnessed an intensification of attack by the opponent and a clear refereeing bias, ignoring the excessive roughness of Sundowns team, and the referee issued a yellow card to player Teboho Mokyana for roughness with Dieng, and then the referee announced the end of the first half with the two teams tied at 0/0.
Second Half
In the 52nd minute, Thabelo Maseko shot powerfully to the left of El Shenawy, to score the first and only goal for Sundowns.
Although, Mohamed Abdelmonem tried to score after a vertical pass, but we were unlucky to get in.
Afterwards, Marcel Koller, our head coach, makes the first and second changes, with the participation of Anthony Modeste and Akram Tawfik, and the exit of Salah Mohsen and Mohamed Hani.
The Reds made the third change, with Reda Slim leaving and Taher Mohamed Taher participating.
Then due to the clear refereeing bias, Rami Rabia received a yellow card for objecting to the referee, for ignoring the excessive roughness of the Sundowns players.
In stoppage time, the referee strangely overlooked pushing Percy Tau into the penalty area without intervention from the VAR referees.
Eventually, the referee ended the match, by the result that we didn't want with Sundowns winning 1/0.
We are set to face Sundowns again next Wednesday in the second leg match of the semi-finals of the African League.
