Al-Ahly will face Raja in the second leg of the CAF Champions League quarter-finals in Casablanca on Friday at 12am.
Defending champions Al-Ahly pit up a spirited performance, beating Raja Club Athletic 2-1 in an end to end CAF Champions League quarter-final first leg match at the Al Salam Stadium in Cairo last Saturday.
Sayed Abdelhafiz, Al Ahly’s director of football, believes that the team is ready as we take on Raja Casablanca in the second leg of the CAF Champions League quarter-finals, according to Al-Ahly website.
We are going into the game hoping to defend our 2-1 lead in the first leg and Abdelhafiz is confident that our players will put on a strong performance and book a ticket to the semi-finals.
“Our concentration levels are high since we touched down in Casablanca. The coach is preparing the players for the tough clash.”
“We have a 2-1 lead but every game has its own story. We will play for winning and we believe in the team’s ability to achieve a good result and book a place in the semis. Our players have always shown strong character in big matches.”
“We have much respect for Raja and the two clubs enjoy strong ties. We are talking about two of the biggest teams in the continent.”
Al-Ahly 2-1 Raja
First half goals from Amr El Solia and Hussein El Shahaat gave Ahly an early advantage, with Mohamed Zrida halving the deficit for the visitors, but not enough to go the full length. Ahly would have won by a bigger margin, but had Amr El Solia miss a second half penalty.
The Red Devils had a perfect start, going ahead after 12 minutes courtesy of a VAR awarded penalty. Referee Jean Jacques Ndala visited the pitch-side monitor and Mohamed Al Makaazi was adjudged to have handled Ayman Ashraf’s cross.
EL Solia stepped up to score and give the defending champions a vital lead. Seven minutes later they should have been two goals up, but Mohamed Sherif’s header unmarked inside the box from a Percy Tau cross was saved by the keeper.
His blushes were wiped off though in the 23rd minute when EL Shahaat side footed the ball home from inside the box after Tau’s inch perfect cross found his run inside the box.
In the second half, Raja came back pumped up with the goal, but found themselves on the receiving end on the hour mark when Marouane Hadhoudi was sent off for a foul inside the box. However, El Solia missed the eventual penalty.
Despite the reprieve, Raja were handicapped in numbers and Ahly just but managed to see off the result ahead of next weekend’s return tie in Casablanca.
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