Al Ahly achieved a 1-0 win over Tunisia’s Esperance on Saturday in the first leg of the CAF Champions League semis at Hammadi Agrebi Stadium.

Before the match, riots erupted between Esperance fans and the Tunisian police, who fired gas bombs to control the riots, and the game was delayed for one hour and started at 7:00 PM (Cairo Time).

Mohamed Sherif was our hero in the game as he scored the winning goal midway of the second half with a sensational finish, giving us a slight advantage ahead of the second leg in Cairo.

For the second season in a row, we secured a victory away from home in the first leg of the CAF Champions League semi-final.

The Start  

We started with three players in the midfield, which allowed us to control the tempo of the game and keep possession of the ball with repeated short passes between the players.

We counted on high pressure and getting the ball as quick as possible after losing it to repeat our attacks. Mohamed Sherif was our target man and he was flanked by Taher Mohamed Taher and Salah Mohsen.

In the 30th minute, Sherif followed the ball that rebounded from the opponent’s goalkeeper who failed to control Hamdy Fathy’s shot. Sherif shot the ball in the back of the net but the referee disallowed the goal after checking VAR.

Four minutes later, Esperance had a clear chance to score as their striker received the ball inside the box, dribbled our defender, and tried to dribble our goalkeeper El Shenawy, but our keeper was awake and got to the ball first before the striker.

The minutes went by and the referee blew the half-time whistle.

Second Half

Our team totally dominated the second half and we started to push forward, searching for the opening goal.

Our players found a crack in the Tunisian defense and Taher Mohamed Taher had a clear chance to score as Akram Tawfik’s cross found him alone but Taher’s shot went wide.

In the 61st minute, Mohamed Mgady Afsha entered the pitch, replacing Salah Mohsen and that was the turning point in the game as Afsha’s touches enhanced our performance in the midfield.

The Winning Goal
Afsha passed the ball to Aliou Dieng who dominated it and kept it under control before passing the ball to Sherif.

With the coolness and coldness of a prolific striker, Sherif’s shot went past the goalkeeper but it hit the post and rebounded to sherif who put the ball in the empty net, giving us a 1-0 lead.

After the goal, it was clear that we had more chances to double the score and ease our mission in Cairo in the second leg but our players failed to convert the clear chances they had.

The minutes went by and the referee blew the final whistle, declaring a 1-0 win for the Red Eagles.

Mini Match
Venue: Hammadi Agrebi Stadium
Referee: Victor Gomes from South Africa
Occasion: First leg of the CAF Champions League Semis
Starting Line-up
Mohamed El Shenawy, Badr Benoun, Ayman Ashraf, Ali Maaloul, Akram Tawfik, Hamdy Fathy, Amr El Soulia, Aliou Dieng, Taher Mohamed Taher, Salah Mohsen, and Mohamed Sherif.

Substitutions:
Afsha (Salah Mohsen)
Hussein El Shahat (Taher)
Ramy Rabia (Akram)
Walter Bwalya (Sherif)

Goals
Mohamed Sherif  ’67

Next Game
On Saturday 26 June in the second leg of the CAF Champions League Semis