Al Ahly managed to qualify to the CAF Champions League quarter-finals after a 2-2 draw against Al Merrikh SC of Sudan on Saturday at Al Hilal Stadium.
Al Merrikh SC’s Ramadan Agab scored the first goal of the game in the 27th minute, and 9 minutes later, Saifeldin Malik netted the second goal to give his team a 2-0 lead at the break.
However, the Red Eagles managed to equalize the result in the second half, thanks to goals from Badr Benoun and Yasser Ibrahim.
Benoun scored the first goal from the spot, and in the dying minutes of the game, Yasser’s late header equalized the score.
Following today’s game, Al Ahly are currently sitting in the second position with 8 points after five matches and booked a spot in the competition’s quarter-finals.
Early Attempts
Al Ahly started the game with a frontline pressure, as our players were blocking the spaces for Al Merrikh SC’s players.
In the 7th minute, we missed our first scoring chance as Mohamed Magdy Afsha’s effort was blocked by Al Merrikh’s defenders.
The Red Eagles leveled up their pressure in order to score the opener, and in the 17th minute, we missed a dangerous scoring chance, as Mohamed Sherif failed to put the ball in the net.
Unexpected Scenario
Despite our dominance, Al Merrikh SC’s Ramadan Agab gave his team the lead by a header in the 26th minute.
The minutes went on and Al Merrikh SC found the target again, as Saifeldin Malik doubled the score in the 36th minute to give his team a 2-0 lead.
Second Half
Before the start of the second half, our head coach Pitso Mosimane, made two substitutions as Taher Mohamed Taher and Walter Bwalya joined the game instead of Marwan Mohsen and Junior Ajayi.
In the 46th minute, we missed another clear chance as Sherif’s shot was blocked by Al Merrikh SC’s goalkeeper.
Mosimane used his bench again in the 67th minute, as Walid Soliman and Hussien El Shahat joined the game instead of Aliou Dieng and Mohamed Sherif.
We kept our pressure in the game and in the 79th minute, Taher was awarded a penalty due to Al Merrikh SC’s defender late challenge. Badr Benoun scored our first goal from the spot to make the result 2-1.
The Red Eagles kept their pressure in order to score the equalizer, but our attempts were blocked by Al Merrikh SC’s defense.
However, our defender Yasser Ibrahim saved the day by scoring a late equalizer from a sensational header to secure an important draw in Sudan.
Mini Match
Venue :
Al Hilal Stadium
Referee :
Bamlak Tessema
Al Ahly’s starting line-up: Mohamed El Shenawy - Mohamed Hany - Badr Benoun - Yasser Ibrahim - Ayman Ashraf – Afsha - Amr El Soulia - Aliou Dieng - Mohamed Sherif - Junior Ajayi - Marwan Mohsen
Substitutions :
Marwan Mohsen (Walter Bwalya)
Junior Ajayi (Taher Mohamed Taher)
Aliou Dieng (Hussien El Shahat)
Mohamed Sherif (Walid Soliman)
Goals :
27’ Ramadan Agab (Al Merrikh)
36’ Saifeldin Malik (Al Merrikh)
80’ Badr Benoun (Al Ahly)
94’ Yasser Ibrahim (Al Ahly)
Yellow Cards:
27’ Mohamed Rashid (Al Merrikh)
27’ Ramadan Agab (Al Merrikh)
33’ Ayman Ashraf (Al Ahly)
42’ Abdelrahman Karongo (Al Merrikh)
68’ Outcho (Al Merrikh)
78’ Mohamed Moustafa (Al Merrikh)
Next Game:
Al Ahly are set to face Simba SC of Tanzania on April 9 in Matchday 6 of the CAF Champions League group stage.
