CAIRO — Africa’s elite clubs, Al-Ahly of Egypt, TP Mazembe of DR Congo, Esperance Sportive de Tunis and South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns have all qualified for this year’s CAF Champions League semi-final.
In the first semi-final, Al-Ahly will play TP Mazembe in what promises to be a thrilling encounter. Esperance Sportive de Tunis will clash with Mamelodi Sundowns in the second semi-final.
TP Mazembe will now prepare to face the record holding champions Ahly in a two-legged tie with the first fixture being at home in Lubumbashi on April 19, before the return leg on April 26 in Cairo to determine who between the two will advance to the finals.
The five-time African Champions Mazembe sealed their place in the semi-finals after securing a 2-1 away win over Angola’s Petro Luanda.
Following a 0-0 statement in DR Congo’s Lubumbashi, Jonathan Toro’s opener was almost enough to send the Angolan outfit to their second ever CAF Champions League, but a rejuvenated Mazembe side came back from the recess to turn the match upside down away from home.
As expected, the Angolan champions took control of the match in the opening stages with attacks from the middle through the skillful Pedro Miguel who pulled strings for the hosts.
The opener nearly came in the 9th minute after danger-man; Jonathan Toro’s well struck volley went inches over the bar to the relief of the visitors, cafonline.com reported.
The forward did make amends in the 29th minute with a well taken strike at the half-hour mark to give his side the lead.
With the match destined for victory in favour of the hosts, Philippe Kinzumbi silenced the crowd with a brilliant turn to unleash a grass-cutter that beat Hugo Marques to level matters in eh 82nd minute.
The goal gave the hosts a sudden wakeup call that had already been in celebratory mode as they started sending numbers forward – a tactic that dismally backfired as Joel Beya broke the hearts of the Angolans with a late strike in referee’s optional time to make it 2-1 in favour of Mazembe.
Elsewhere, Tunisian side Esperance secured a spot in the semi-finals after defeating Ivorian club ASEC 4-2 in a dramatic penalty shootout, cafonline.com.
The second-leg, quarter-final encounter in the Ivorian capital of Abidjan saw both teams locked in a goalless stalemate at the end of regular time.
With the aggregate score level, the match was decided by a nerve-wracking penalty shootout, with Esperance emerging victorious.
With a goalless draw in both legs, Esperance Tunis emerged victorious in the penalty shootout, with goalkeeper Amanallah Memmiche making crucial saves against Christian Kouame and Salifou Diarrassouba, sealing a 4-2 triumph.
This victory propels Esperance into the semi-finals of the CAF Champions League for the 16th time in its illustrious history.
They will now face South African outfit Mamelodi Sundowns in the next stage, who secured their own semi-final berth after a penalty shootout victory over Tanzanian side Young Africans.
Playing at the Stade Felix-Houphouet-Boigny in Abidjan, ASEC Mimosas displayed a more assertive approach compared to the first leg.
Although Esperance maintained possession dominance, with over 60 per cent possession by halftime, ASEC created some dangerous opportunities. However, these efforts failed to ignite the match significantly.
Elsewhere, title holders Al-Ahly of Egypt and Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa have clinched their spots in the tournament’s semi-finals.
Al-Ahly has won the CAF Champions League 11 times in their history.
The Red Devils reached the last four thanks to goals by midfielder Amr el-Sulaya and Mahmoud Kahraba.
The Cairo-based side displayed their dominance from the outset, seeking an early breakthrough to unsettle their opponents.
Ahly’s French striker Antony Modeste threatened Simba’s defence in the 11th minute, but his header narrowly missed the target.
Modeste came close again in the 22nd minute, only for the referee to disallow the goal for an offside call against his teammate, winger Hussein el-Shahat, who provided the assist.
Despite Simba’s attempts to advance and create opportunities, they found themselves thwarted by Al-Ahly’s goalkeeper, Mostafa Shobier, who made crucial saves in the 33rd minute to keep his team’s goal intact.
The first-half ended goalless, with both teams locked in a battle for supremacy, cafonline.com reported. However, Al-Ahly broke the deadlock early in the second half when El-Sulaya capitalized on a chance in the 47th minute, firing a powerful shot past Simba’s Moroccan goalkeeper, Ayoub Lakred, to give his side a 1-0 lead.
In stoppage time, Al-Ahly was awarded a penalty after El-Shahat was fouled inside the box.
Mahmoud Abdel-Moneam ‘Kahraba’ stepped up to take the spot-kick and calmly converted it in the 90+6th minute, sealing a 2-0 victory for Al-Ahly over Simba.
