Late Wydad strike spoils Al-Ahly CAF Champions League party

CAIRO: Al-Ahly took a small step toward an 11th continental title with a 2-1 win over Wydad AC in the first leg of the African Champions League final on Sunday but were left wondering what might have been. The Egyptians were looking good with a deserved two goal lead before the Moroccans hit with a late goal which means that next week’s second leg is very finely poised.

In this rematch from the 2022 final that went the way of Wydad, a first half header from Percy Tau and a Kahraba strike on the hour put the Red Giants in control before Saifeddine Bouhra hit back to set things up for next Sunday when there will be a big crowd and a hostile atmosphere in Casablanca.

That was the case with 50,000 fans at Cairo Stadium making an unforgettable atmosphere, Al-Ahly made most of the early running. Perhaps attack was always going to be the best form of defense as despite the pre-match news that Mohamed El-Shenawy had recovered from a calf injury and was set to start, in fact third choice goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir came in as the second choice stopper also injured. The stand-in stood out. 

Al-Ahly dominated possession and just before the half-hour, the game seemed to turn the way of the ten-time continental champions as the referee pointed to the spot, judging that that Hussein El Shahat’s free-kick  had been handled by Zouheir El Moutaraji but VAR clearly demonstrated that the ball had hit the back of the head of the turning player.

After 38 minutes, there were more calls for a penalty as Al-Ahly claimed that the impressive  El Shahat was brought down in the area by Jalal Daoudi but the appeals were waved away.

Until that point, the Moroccans had barely been visible as an attacking force but had shown in the semifinal