Al Ahly had a strong finish to the CAF Champions League group stage after defeating Tanzania’s Simba SC 1-0 on Friday at Al Ahly stadium. 

Mohamed Sherif scored the winning goal for Al Ahly in the 33rd minute, which was enough for the Red Eagles to secure an important victory over Simba SC in Matchday 6 of the CAF Champions League. 

Al Ahly and Simba SC have already booked their places in the CAF Champions League quarter-finals before the game, which made the outcome of tonight’s encounter have no impact on the group standings. 

Al Ahly finished second in the group with 11 points, two points behind the group leaders, Simba. 

Pitso Mosimane, Al Ahly’s head coach, had the chance to give playing time for several players such as Ramy Rabia, Walid Soliman, Salah Mohsen, Akram Tawfik and Taher Mohamed Taher in order to prepare them ahead of the decisive stage of the season. 

Early Pressure 

Al Ahly dominated the game from the start and our players moved the ball in midfield, controlling the tempo of the game. We focused on the right and left flanks, where we started our attacks and depended on the pace and speed of our full backs, Ahmed Ramadan Beckham and Ayman Ashraf. 

Mohamed Sherif had a chance to open the score after 12 minutes from the start but his shot went over the bar. 

Ahmed Ramadan Beckham made an impressive run between the lines and dribbled past two defenders, sending a perfect cross to Sherif, who his header missed the target. 

In-form Beckham continued his amazing performance and fired a shot from the edge of the box but his ball went over the bar. 

Sherif’s efforts paid off as he followed a ball that rebounded from the opponent’s goalkeeper, opening the score for the home team. 

Second Half 

Taher Mohamed Taher joined the game instead of Junior Ajayi, who was forced to leave the game minutes before half-time after suffering an injury.

Time went by with our players trying to double the score and Amr El Soulia’s shot went over the bar. 

Mosimane made two substitutions, 15 minutes before the final whistle, as Akram Tawfik and Salah Mohsen replaced Hussein El Shahat and Mohamed Sherif. Seven minutes later, Walid Soliman also joined the game instead of Afsha. 

The referee missed a clear foul against our goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawy, which could have led to a goal for the Tanzanian team. El Shenawy then opposed the decision of the referee and received a yellow card.

Minutes went by and the referee blew his final whistle declaring a 1-0 win for Al Ahly. 

Mini Match  

Venue: Al Ahly Stadium 

Referee: Mustapha Ghorbal from Algeria 

Al Ahly’s Starting Line-up:

Mohamed El Shenawy, Ramy Rabia, Ahmed Beckham, Ayman Ashraf, Badr Benoun, Aliou Dieng, Amr El Soulia, Mohamed Magdy Afsha, Hussein El Shahat, Junior Ajayi and Mohamed Sherif. 

Subs: 

Ali Lotfy, Marwan Mohsen, Salah Mohsen, Walid Soliman, Akram Tawfik, Saad Samir and Taher Mohamed Taher. 

Substitutions: 

Junior Ajayi (Taher Mohamed Taher) 

Hussein El Shahat (Akram Tawfik)

Mohamed Sherif (Salah Mohsen)

Afsha (Walid Soliman) 

Goals:

Mohamed Sherif ‘33

Yellow Cards

Shomari Kapombe – Simba 

Erasto Nyoni – Simba 

Mohamed El Shenawy – Al Ahly 

Joash Onyango – Simba