Pitso Mosimane's Al Ahly running scared of Sundowns ahead of Saturday's showdown

Cape Town — Al Ahly, the No 1-ranked African club, are running scared of Mamelodi Sundowns ahead of Saturday night's CAF Champions Group A clash at the 30,000-seater Al Salam Stadium in Cairo.

Saad Shalaby, Al Ahly’s Executive Director, said in an interview with Egyptian television network channel ONTime Sports TV' that the club has applied to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to allow fans to attend the match.

“We are speaking with CAF and the security authorities to request fan attendance in the Al Ahly and Sundowns match,” Shalaby said ONTime Sport TV.

With fans in attendance, Al Ahly will enjoy considerable vocal support, and this may just provide the spark for Pitso Mosimane's team against Sundowns, his former club.

Al Ahly are overcome by fear in the light of their poor performance on Friday night in a Group A clash against an average outfit Al Hilal, the Sudan Premier League champions, who overshadowed the Egyptians in a goalless draw.

The match statistics show that Al Ahly dominated possession, but Al Hilal were 15-5 ahead in the shots at goal count. In the course of 90 minutes, Al Ahly had one lousy shot on target, as against four by the Sudanese team. Al Hilal held a 9-2 advantage in the corner count.

These statistics do not inspire confidence and Al Ahly's executive board have decided to play the 12th man to help lift the team's spirits against the South Africans.

There is every chance that Al Ahly may not be keeping their eye on the ball because of what has gone before between the two clubs, most notably the 5-0 drubbing in a 2019 quarterfinal clash, and today that result still rankles the Egyptians. It has gone down as the heaviest defeat for the 10-time champions in CAF Champions League history.

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