Al-Ahly of Egypt is on the verge of the final of the African Champions League football competition, after it returned with a historic victory over its host, Esperance de Tunis, 3-0, on Friday, thanks to its South African striker, Percy Tau, at the “Hammadi Al-Aqrabi” stadium in Rades, in the first leg of the semi-final.
Tau scored a double (8 and 56), while Mahmoud Abdel Moneim added the third “Kahraba” (75).
Al-Ahly seeks to reach the fourth final in a row, and to enhance its record number of titles (10 times currently), and if it qualifies, it will face the winner of the matches between Wydad Athletic Club of Morocco and Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa, who meet on Saturday in the first leg of the Golden Square.
The match was played in the absence of a public presence after the Confederation of African Football (CAF) imposed a penalty on the Tunisian team due to the riots that occurred in the Esperance match against the Algerian JS Kabylie, in the second leg of the quarter-finals.
The “Bab Souika” team participated in the meeting in the absence of a group of its stars, most notably the veteran goalkeeper Moez bin Sharifia, the midfielder Ghilan Al-Shaalali, the Libyan winger Hamdo Al-Huni and the Algerian Riyad Bin Ayada.
The Egyptian team took the initiative to attack in order to surprise its host with a quick goal, and this was achieved when “Kahraba” led a coordinated attack and passed a distinguished ball to Tao, who hit hard, and the ball hit the foot of Tunisian goalkeeper Muhammad Sidqi Al-Dabashi and bounced into the net (8).
The Egyptian team retreated in order to absorb the reaction of the landowners, and indeed, coach Nabil Maaloul’s team dominated the course, and striker Moataz Zadam turned the ball with his head, and it bounced from Al-Ahly’s defense outside the field (13).
--Hussein Al-Shahat almost doubled Al-Ahly’s progress after he was completely alone after a pass from Tao, but he hit the goal in a strange way (27).
Muhammad Ali bin Ramadan hit a long ball, which was caught by Al-Ahly international goalkeeper Muhammad Al-Shennawy, before it penetrated the right corner of his goal (35). Al-Shennawi also removed a ball that was hit by Moroccan Saber Boukrine from a free kick to a corner (45).
Maaloul tried to strengthen his midfield after the break, as he pushed international Anis Al-Badri instead of Boukrine, and the Tunisian team’s field advantage continued, but the visitors’ counterattacks were decisive.
Similar to the first half, Al-Ahly snatched a surprise goal, following a distinguished individual effort from Tao on the borders of the penalty area, ending it with a powerful shot that changed its direction after it hit the Esperance defender and settled in the far left of the goal (56).
Muhammad Ali Bin Hammouda’s header passed by the goal (56), then Al-Shennawi brilliantly tackled a back scissors from Algerian defender Muhammad Amin Togay and pushed it to a corner (60).
The Tunisian team continued to have negative control, as it needed the decisive touch, while the Egyptian team took advantage of its chances in the best way, to add the third goal after a quick counterattack led by Al-Mali Aliou Diang and from him to Hussein Al-Shahat on the left side, so he passed the ball crosswise to Kahraba, so he followed it to the left of goalkeeper Al-Dabashi (75). ). This is the international striker’s fifth goal this season in the continental competition.
