CAF Champions League Defending Champions, Al Ahly SC traveled to Dar es Salaam to defeat Tanzanian Club, Simba SC 1-0 in the first leg of the Quarter-Finals.
The Egyptian Club defeated Simba FC in front of their fans as they will be hoping to wrap up the two-legged tie when they meet again in Egypt for the return leg next week. A fourth-minute goal by Ahmed Kouka was enough to secure the first-leg victory for the Egyptian giants who did well to absorb the ongoing pressure from Simba throughout the encounter.
The hosts were the first to ask questions of their opponents as early as the first minute after an inviting ball into the danger area as Sadio Kanoute’s header effort went just over the bar. However, it was the defending champions who drew first blood after Mohamed Hany drove down the right flank to send a dangerous ball that almost went in as an own goal but rebounded off the keeper for Ahmed Kouka to fire home from close range.
Despite conceding early, Simba were not derailed by the concession as they continued searching for the equalizer. Clatous Chama almost pulled one back in the 22nd minute after a clever flick was met by a quick reaction by Mostafa Shobeir who cleared to safety. Shobeir, who was in goal in the absence of Ahly’s number one, Mohamed El Shenawy was again called to action in the 38th minute when another effort by Kanoute found the keeper on high alert as he made the save.
In the second half, the hosts continued piling on the pressure but hardly did much to break Al Ahly’s defence who were resilient and thwarted all of Simba’s attacks. The two giants will face each other again next weekend and besides this a loss for Simba, they will head to Cairo with their heads held high from a great performance that saw them pin their more fancied opponents in their half throughout the match.
TotalEnergies CAF Champions League action continues today as Young Africans of Tanzania take on Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa. In other matches, TP Mazembe will play Atletico Petroleos while Esperance and Asec Mimosas face each other.
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