CAIRO — Record African champions Al-Ahly of Egypt completed a great comeback in Group B by outplaying Al-Hilal of Sudan 3-0 to clinch a CAF Champions League quarter-finals place.
Winger Hussein el-Shahat stepped off the bench to score a double to help record 10-time African champions Ahly reach the knock-out phase in emphatic fashion.
The result sees Ahly topple Hilal from second place as they moved to 10 points, same as Hilal who however had an inferior goal difference.
Mamelodi Sundowns wound up their hold on top spot in the group with a 2-1 win over Cameroon’s Cotonsport who leave without a single victory.
Forward Mahmoud Kahraba put the Red Devils ahead 25 minutes into the final matchday showdown before a sell-out 50,000 crowd at the Cairo International Stadium.
Ahly began the match three points behind Hilal and had to win either 1-0 or by more than one goal to accompany already-qualified Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa to the last eight.
In the end they swept aside Hilal, who offered little in attack, but after four matchdays the outlook was grim for Ahly and their Swiss coach, Marcel Koller.
A 5-2 drubbing from Sundowns in Pretoria left them trailing Hilal by five points and staring a humiliating early exit from the premier African club competition.
Kahraba scored a hat-trick in a 4-0 matchday five win over Coton Sport in Cameroon, but a home win for Hilal over Sundowns the following day would have eliminated the Egyptian outfit.
With Hilal and Sundowns drawing 1-1 and just minutes left in Omdurman, the Sudanese were awarded a penalty, but Ronwen Williams saved a tame Ather el Tahir spot-kick and the points were shared.
The draw offered Al-Ahly an escape route and they took full advantage to finish second on head-to-head records after a 1-0 away loss to Hilal two months ago.
The deadlock was broken when Kahraba brilliantly controlled a pass from winger Mohamed Abdelkader and lofted the ball into the net over 19-year-old Hilal goalkeeper Issa Fofana from the Ivory Coast.
Midfielder Marwan Attia thought he had put Ahly two goals ahead 10 minutes into the second half, but his shot struck the post and Fofana scrambled the ball to safety under pressure from Kahraba.
The introduction of El-Shahat swung the match decisively in favour of the home side as he scored on 64 and 81 minutes.
A brilliant pass from South African winger Percy Tau set up the second goal and El-Shahat later cut inside and slammed the ball past Fofana to complete the scoring.
Elsewhere in Pretoria, Mamelodi Sundowns finished the group phase unbeaten with 14 points after beating winless Cotonsport 1-0.
The Cameroonians have lost all their matches in the group phase, conceding 16 goals and scoring only thrice.
A Marie Mekong own goal with two minutes left to the break gave Sundowns the lead. Ethiopian international Abubeker Nasser scored the second goal in the 86th minute while Cotonsports’ consolation was scored by Mashood Kasali in the 95th minute.
Holders Wydad stuns Kabylie
A brace from Bouly Junior Sambou saw defending champions Wydad Athletic Club thrash JS Kabylie in Casablanca, to finish top of Group A.
Heading into the final round of group matches, both Wydad and Kabylie were on 10 points and had qualified for the quarter finals so the battle was over which side clinches the top spot.
And Wydad made the most of their home advantage to pick the massive win and rocket top on 13 points.
After a cagy and toughly contested start, Sambou broke the deadlock seven minutes to the break when he picked up a deep pass from Attiyat Allah from inside the box before controlling and scoring with a thunderous half volley past the keeper.
Reda Boumechra almost levelled for the Algerians three minutes to the break when he found space inside the box, but his shot was lame.
They were punished six minutes after the restart when Sambou completed his brace when he deflected a shot from Yahya Jebrane past the keeper.
Zouheir El Moutaraji then completed the job for Wydad three minutes to the end when he scored with a sublime low freekick from almost 35 yards out.
Elsewhere, Esperance finished top of Group D after playing to a 0-0 draw with second placed CR Belouizdad.
Petro hits Vita in Group A
Angola’s Petro de Luanda finished third in Group A after a nervy 1-0 win over Congo’s AS Vita Club at their Estadio 11 de Novembro backyard in the capital Luanda.
Heading to the final round of group stage matches, both Petro and Vita were already eliminated from contention to the quarter-finals, and they were only battling for bragging rights and the third place honour.
It was the home side Petro who ensured they finished off in a positive fashion picking up the win.
Forward Jaredi scored the all important goal for Petro on the quarter hour mark, a lead that they closely guarded till the final whistle.
They would have added more with skipper Tiago Azulao coming very close, but his shot hit the outside of the post in the best chance after the goal.
The win takes Petro to seven points from two wins and a draw in six matches while Vita finished bottom with four points off one win and a draw.
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