Al Ahly target Pirates at home
Holders Al Ahly are faced with threat of losing out on their title when they face Orlando Pirates of South Africa on Sunday, at the Suez Military Stadium.
Pirates’ striker Thamsanqa Gabuza scored what proved to be the game’s only goal when both sides met last week at the Orlando Stadium in Soweto, and Ahly needs at least two unanswered goals to turn the table and reach their second consecutive Orange CAF Confederation Cup final.
The Red Devils became the first Egyptian club to win the second-tier continental club championship since its creation in 2014, defeating Ivorian side, Sewe Sport in a dramatic final. Veteran Emad Metaeb scored the winning goal six minutes into injury time in front of 50,000 fans at the Cairo International Stadium.
But the circumstances appear different for the most decorated African club at international level this time. The Cairo giants unusually finished the domestic season without a title for the first time since 2004, losing both the Egyptian Premier League and Egypt Cup to eternal rivals, Zamalek.
And retaining the Orange CAF Confederation Cup remains the priority to give the Red Devils’ supporters a reason to cheer.
“We have to win the Orange CAF Confederation Cup as a consolation to our great fans”, said Ahly head coach Fathy Mabrouk, under pressure after a trophy-less spell at the end of the domestic season.
“We’re not used to finishing a season without trophies, and the Orange CAF Confederation Cup would be the perfect gift to our supporters”.
Mabrouk took the job on an interim basis last May following the sacking of Spaniard Juan Carlos Garrido who led Ahly to last year’s continental title. But elimination from the prestigious Orange CAF Champions League cost Garrido his job, and Mabrouk named successor.
“We will do our best to turn the score and guarantee our place in the final. Orlando Pirates is a strong team. In the first leg, we made a defensive mistake and they made good use of it. We didn’t deserve to lose as we missed a number of scoring chances. Hopefully, we won’t repeat that on Sunday”, concluded Mabrouk.
Ahly’s veteran midfielder Hossam Ghaly is likely to miss the game through a calf injury, which ruled him out of the first leg. Winger Walid Soliman, who also sat out of last week’s encounter in Johannesburg, has been passed fit for the crucial encounter.
Much will be expected of striking duo, Ghanaian John Antwi and Gabonese Malick Evouna, likely to lead the attack of the Cairo giants.
The game is set for the Mediterranean city of Suez, with the winner facing either Zamalek (Egypt) or Etoile du Sahel (Tunisia) in the grand finale. The Tunisians take a 5-1 lead into the return leg scheduled in Cairo on Saturday.
ANA