Al Ahly advanced to the semifinals of the CAF Champions League with the help of Emam Ashour’s late strike, defeating Al Hilal 1-0 (2-0 on aggregate) at the Cheikha Ould Boïdiya Stadium on Tuesday evening.
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Al Hilal held their ground well in the first half of play, containing Al Ahly with solid defending.
The beginning stages of the match saw the teams equally hold possession, but as the half progressed the home team had more of the ball.
Achraf Bencharki was a threat for Al Ahly on the wing, but the Al Hilal defence did a decent job of not letting him cause any real issues.
Matters were still goalless by the 30 minute mark, with the Egyptians visibly frustrated by not being able to find a breakthrough.
Ahmed M’Bareck had a chance to put the hosts ahead towards the end of the first half, but Al Ahly keeper Mohamed El Shenawy stood tall between the posts to deny the attacker from opening the scoring.
The second half was Al Hilal’s time to shine, as they continued to pile on the pressure on the reigning champions.
El Shenawy was busy between the sticks as the hosts switched on, working to find the opener.
Their efforts would eventually be in vain however, as the Egyptian team took their first real chance on goal as Ashour finished calmly in the 80th minute after receiving a pass from Taher Mohamed, beating Issa Fofana.
With the scoreline now 2-0 on aggregate with 10 minutes of normal time to go, Al Ahly held on until the final whistle to book their spot in the semifinals of the CAF Champions League.
Al Hilal 0
Al Ahly (0) 1 (Ashour 80’)
Al Ahly won 2-0 on aggregate
AL HILAL: I. Fofana, S. Ehebelo, M. Saeed Ahmed, O. Diouf, K. Diaw, E. Kane, S. Adel (Y. Boshara 85’), A. Coulibaly (E. Aime Tendeng 58’), A. Raouf (G. Fofana 88’), J. Girumugisha (Y. Muzammil 85’), A. M’Bareck
AL AHLY: M. El Shenawy, Y. Attiyat Allah, R. Rabia, A. Dari, M. Hany, M. Attia, A. Tawfik, A. Bencharki (K. El Debes 84’), N. Gradisar (M. El Hadad 84’), E. Ashour (A. Hashem 85’), W. Abou Ali (T. Mohamed 61’)
