Hussein Elshahat of Al Ahly celebrates goal during the CAF Champions League 2022/23 semifnal, second leg between All Ahly and Esperance at Cairo International Stadium in Egypt on 19 May 2023 ©Emira/BackpagePix
Friday May 19, 2023. 23:09
Al Ahly booked their spot in the CAF Champions League final on Friday night, following their 4-0 aggregate victory over Esperance du Tunis at the Cairo International Stadium.
The home team settled early on the ball and looked comfortable in possession during the first five minutes of the game. In soaking up the pressure, Esperance looked to cause Al Ahly in counter-attacking situations.
Percy Tau and Kahraba linked up well going forward and created the first notable chance of the game early on. The South African played a lobbed ball into the area which got the better of the opposition defence line, with Kahraba’s effort hitting the crossbar. While the goal scoring opportunity was ruled out for an offside, Al Ahly continued to apply pressure going forward.
Al Ahly passed the ball around with authority while the travelling outfit sat deep in defending their quarters. After 20 minutes on the clock, the Tunisian outfit managed to get into the game and made way inside the Al Ahly half.
The hosts took the lead in the 21st minute of the match as Tau found El Shahat with an inch perfect through ball from the half-way line. In latching onto the ball, the attacker lobbed the on rushing goalkeeper as the ball bounced into the back of the net.
In seeing out the first-half, Al Ahly bossed the possession count and starved ES Tunis from any kind of goal scoring opportunities.
Much like that of the first-half, Al Ahly commenced the second-45 on a strong note. In penning the opposition back, the Egyptian side actively searched for their second goal despite their aggregate advantage.
The travelling side had moments in which they progressed the ball up field, however, Al Ahly did well to recycle the ball inside their own half. With 70 minutes on the clock, the Egyptians remained in control of the tie.
Al Ahly kicked into game management mode during the closing stages of the game but kept their foot on the paddle in going forward. The Tunisians had no answer to the swift attacking Al Ahly advancements, as the home side went on to secure a 1-0 victory on home soil.
Al Ahly: (1) 1 (El Shahat 21’)
ES Tunis: (0) 0
Al Ahly: Lotfi, Maaloul, Abdelmonem, El Hanafi, Hany, Dieng, Ghallab, Tau (Afsha72’), Fathi, El Shahat (Radwan 72’), Kahraba
Esperance de Tunis: Debchi, Ben Hamida, Tougai, Meriah, Ben Ali, Ben Romdhane, Coulibaly, Ouhabi, Arfaoui (Mimouni 79’), Badri (Zaddem 62’), Ben Hammouda