A controversial Mohamed Fadhel opener and a brilliant Ahmed Fathi strike have handed Al-Ahly an important win in Cairo but the Egyptians won’t be celebrating quite as fully as they would have had they kept a clean sheet.
Before the match began, both teams learned that TP Mazembe had overcome JS Kabylie 3-1 in Lubumbashi. After that, their CAF Champions League Semi Final, a highly anticipated North African derby, got underway.
Al-Ahly did their utmost to pile on the pressure in the early going but it was Esperance’s Michael Eneramo who hit the back of the net in the 8th minute after he was well served by Harrison Afful but the goal was pulled back for offside.
The Red Devils came close to opening the scoring in the 29th minute when some tidy combination play between Mohamed Fadhel and Mohamed Barakat led to a shot narrowly missing the frame of Wassim Nawara’s goal. Instead, the opener ended up coming seven minutes before halftime when Nawara parried a free kick that bounced off of Fadhel to put the Red Devils in the lead. Replays would later show that the striker had used his hand to score but the Tunisian complaints fell on deaf ears.
Esperance began the second half pushing very far forward in search of the equalizer and should have been punished for their over eagerness but Fadhel missed an excellent opportunity to almost surely seal the win for the Egyptian champions after a big mistake by the Esperance ‘keeper.
Youssef Msakni’s introduction appeared to have given Esperance a much needed lift but a defensive error and some brilliant interplay by Francis Doe and Mohamed Aboutrika led to a thunderous drive from Ahmed Fathi that doubled the Egyptian champions’ lead.
Just when it appeared that the “Blood and Gold” were losing the plot in Cairo, Esperance captain Oussema Darragi pounced on a poor clearance by Sherif Ekramy to give his team a valuable away goal and to make himself the Champions Leagues’ current top scorer.
The game was at its liveliest and most entertaining in the last twenty minutes but despite efforts of both teams, 2-1 stood as the final score to set up a compelling second leg which will be played at Rades Stadium in a fortnight.
Before the match began, both teams learned that TP Mazembe had overcome JS Kabylie 3-1 in Lubumbashi. After that, their CAF Champions League Semi Final, a highly anticipated North African derby, got underway.
Al-Ahly did their utmost to pile on the pressure in the early going but it was Esperance’s Michael Eneramo who hit the back of the net in the 8th minute after he was well served by Harrison Afful but the goal was pulled back for offside.
The Red Devils came close to opening the scoring in the 29th minute when some tidy combination play between Mohamed Fadhel and Mohamed Barakat led to a shot narrowly missing the frame of Wassim Nawara’s goal. Instead, the opener ended up coming seven minutes before halftime when Nawara parried a free kick that bounced off of Fadhel to put the Red Devils in the lead. Replays would later show that the striker had used his hand to score but the Tunisian complaints fell on deaf ears.
Esperance began the second half pushing very far forward in search of the equalizer and should have been punished for their over eagerness but Fadhel missed an excellent opportunity to almost surely seal the win for the Egyptian champions after a big mistake by the Esperance ‘keeper.
Youssef Msakni’s introduction appeared to have given Esperance a much needed lift but a defensive error and some brilliant interplay by Francis Doe and Mohamed Aboutrika led to a thunderous drive from Ahmed Fathi that doubled the Egyptian champions’ lead.
Just when it appeared that the “Blood and Gold” were losing the plot in Cairo, Esperance captain Oussema Darragi pounced on a poor clearance by Sherif Ekramy to give his team a valuable away goal and to make himself the Champions Leagues’ current top scorer.
The game was at its liveliest and most entertaining in the last twenty minutes but despite efforts of both teams, 2-1 stood as the final score to set up a compelling second leg which will be played at Rades Stadium in a fortnight.
Al-Ahly 2-1 Esperance: Red Devils Win But Oussema Darragi Nabs Late Away Goal
![Al-Ahly 2-1 Esperance: Red Devils Win But Oussema Darragi Nabs Late Away Goal]()
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