CAF Champions League
AFRICAN GIANTS, AHLY, SLAUGHTERED IN SOUTH AFRICA!
It may have been a dream for South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns to beat the Egyptian giants and record eight-time winners Ahly, it was more than a nightmare for the Egyptians as they suffered their worst ever defeat in African competitions.
Al Ahly were massacred 5-0 loss by South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns on Saturday.
The embarrassing defeat in the first leg of the African Champions League quarter-final almost certainly ends Ahly’s bid for their first accolade since 2013.
It also surpassed their 3-0 loss to Nigeria’s Enugu Rangers in the CAF Cup, the old version of the Confederation Cup, in 2003 as their biggest ever defeat.
Sundowns, cheered on by a passionate crowd at Lucas Moripe Stadium in Pretoria, went to the locker room two up, thanks to goals from Themba Zwane and Wayne Arendse.
The visitors’ disastrous defence was torn to shreds in the second half, with three further goals from Ricardo Nascimento (penalty), Gaston Sirino and ex-Ahly forward Phakamani Mahlambi compounding the misery of the Red Devils.
Ahly host the second leg in Suez next weekend, where they would be looking to restore some of their shattered pride.
The stunning reverse in Pretoria will heap pressure on Uruguayan coach Martin Lasarte, whose arrival coincided with a January spending spree that yielded immediate results in the Egyptian Premier League, with Ahly closing to within two points of perennial rivals Zamalek on top.
Ahly were pegged back from the early stages, with Sundowns moving the ball around smoothly and leaving opposing defenders chasing shadows with an intricate passing game.
They deservedly went ahead on 14 minutes when a long ball found Tebogo Langerman unmarked on the left to send an inviting low cross that was turned in by Zwane from close range.
It was a one-way traffic from then on, with Sundowns repeatedly exploiting gaps in a shaky backline to launch a wave after wave of attacks.
Lebohang Maboe was denied by keeper Mohamed El-Shennawi in a one-on-one on 22 minutes but Arendse made amends one later, sneaking in to convert a floated free kick from close range after once again catching the entire backline off-guard.
Ahly’s bid to get back into the game was not helped by an injury that hit central defender Saad Samir, who made way for Yasser Ibrahim before coach Lasarte made a second early substitution by introducing playmaker Nasser Maher to add much-needed spark as the team sought to push forward.
But Ahly were still given three let-offs in quick succession, with the woodwork denying Sundowns twice and Sirino volleying over the bar with the goal at his mercy.
Ahly’s solitary chance fell to Amr El-Sulaya on the stroke of halftime but he could only send a weak effort into the keeper’s hands from six yards out.
Sundowns overwhelmed their helpless opponents after the break and they were awarded a dubious penalty in the 47th minute when El-Shennawi appeared to have felled an opponent, although television replays suggested that there was no contact.
Nascimento sent El-Shennawi the wrong way from the spot and a demoralized Ahly looked to have given up at this point, surrendering possession far too easily and failing to muster a single effort on goal.
Sirino added the fourth in the 62nd minute with a powerful shot from inside the area after the defence failed to intercept a square pass and Mahlambi completed the rout with a sliding effort into an unguarded net following a low cross from the right hand side of the area seven minutes from time.
Nigeria’s sole survivor into the second round of the CAF Champions League, Enugu Rangers have crashed out of the competition. They lost 3-1 to Angola’s Sagrada Esperança this Sunday in Luanda.
The aggregate scoreline is 3-2 as Rangers last weekend won their home game 1-0. Sagrada Esperança opened the game with offensive and got their first goal barely six minutes into the game when Alexandre Fernando found the back of the net.
The hosts doubled their lead in the 33rd minute through Mussa. But four minutes later, Enugu Rangers reduced the tally to 2-1 to carry an away goal advantage into half time.
Jamie Pimpao got the much needed goal for Angola in the 67th minute to seal the hopes of Rangers.
Sagrada Esperança will now go into next month’s draw for the draw of the group stage.
CAF Champions League 2nd Preliminary Round action resumed on Saturday, 14 September following the resumption of the Africa’s premium club competition on Friday.
It was mostly the travelling teams that secured victories away from home on Saturday, who put themselves in fairly comfortable situations ahead of the return leg next week.
Orlando Pirates had a mental obstacle to overcome in Gaborone against Jwaneng Galaxy, having to face the same side that eliminated them in the same phase of the competition last season.
The former champions secured a 2-0 victory in Gaborone to put themselves in a comfortable position ahead of the return leg next weekend.
Five-time champions, TP Mazembe were away to Red Arrows in Zambia where they also put two past their hosts ahead of the return leg in Lubumbashi.
Mamelodi Sundowns, who played their away match in the comfort of their home stadium against Swaziland’s Mbabane Swallows made use of home ground advantage with a comfortable 4-0 win over their neighbours.
Tanzanian champions, Young Africans secured a hard-fought 1-0 win over CBE SA of Rwanda as Tanzanian giants continue to chase a continental title.
It was a rather tough outing for Moroccan outfit, AS FAR when they travelled to Sudan to face Al Merrikh. A highly entertaining encounter concluded with a 2-2 draw, ahead of the return leg in Morocco.
Egyptian side, Pyramids FC also played out to a draw when they were held 1-1 by APR FC in Rwanda.
Burkina Faso side, Association Sportive des Douanes out up an impressive showing when they edged Algeria’s CR Belouizdad by 1-0.
The first leg of the 2nd Preliminary Round concludes on Sunday, with five interesting encounters lined up, including reigning champions Al Ahly kick starting their title defense away from home.
TotalEnergies CAF Champions League Results & Fixtures:
Friday, 13 September
Enugu Rangers 1 – 0 Sagrada Esperanca
Monastir 0 – 1 MC Alger
Saturday, 14 September
CBE SA 0 – 1 Young Africans
Red Arrows 0 – 2 TP Mazembe
Al-Merrikh 2 – 2 AS FAR
Jwaneng Galaxy FC 0 – 2 Orlando Pirates FC
Maniema Union 2 – 1 Petro de Luanda
Djoliba 1 – 0 ASKO
Douanes 1 – 0 CR Belouizdad
Sunday, 15 September
12h00 GMT | Gor Mahia vs Al Ahly
15h00 GMT | Samartex vs Raja CA
16h00 GMT | San Pedro vs Al-Hilal
16h00 GMT | Dekedaha vs ES Tunis
19h00 GMT | Stade d’Abidjan vs Milo FC
The return leg fixtures of the 2nd Preliminary stage will be played between 20 – 22 September.
-CAF
Enugu Rangers’ patchy form in the CAF Champions League continues as they struggled to beat visiting Angola’s Sagrada Esperance 1-0 in the first leg match played at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo.
It was in similar fashion that they played against Union Sportive de Zilimadjou of Comoros Islands who they beat 2-1 over two legs in Uyo.
Rangers’ lone goal was scored by Kazeem Ogunleye in the 80th minute.
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