The loss of the youth of Belouizdad and the youth of Kabylie. And Esperance win
Al-Ahli and Sundowns are on the cusp of the Golden Square. And the fall of Wydad in the «African Champions»
Al Ahly striker Percy Tau surpasses Raja defender Mahmoud Bentayej. AFP
Sundowns beat CS Belouizdad 4-1. From the source
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Put both Ahly Egypt, and Mamelodi Sundowns South Africa, ahead in the semi-finals of the African Champions League, after the first beat the guest Raja Sportive Morocco 2-4, and hit the second hard away from home by downing Shabab Athletic Belouizdad Algeria 1-<>, the day before yesterday, in the first leg of the quarter-finals. Morocco's Wydad Sportive (defending champions) returned with a disappointing result from Tanzania's Simba by losing with a clean goal, after Esperance Tunis had beaten hosts JS Kabylie of Algeria by the same result.
After being on the verge of exiting the back door of the competition, Al Ahly of Egypt regained its luster in the knockout rounds, and honored the delegation of its guest Raja of Morocco with two goals at the Cairo International Stadium in front of more than 50,<> spectators.
Mohamed Abdel Moneim scored the first goal of the match in the second minute of injury time for the first half, before Hamdi Fathi added the second goal in the 84th minute.
The second leg will be played in Morocco on Saturday, with the winner of that match qualifying to face the winner of the match between Esperance Tunis and JS Kabylie in the same round.
Raja goalkeeper, veteran Anas Al-Zniti, said: "His team was the best in the first half, we were close to scoring, but we did not take advantage of the opportunities because of haste at times and we were not organized at the end of the half to receive a harsh goal in its timing, and in the second half we suffered from fatigue."
"The result is harsh, but not impossible, we need to appear at a higher level in the second leg, to want to make amends, as well as to support our fans against an experienced team in this competition that we are counting on to save our season."
A frustrating result for the defending champions
Morocco's Wydad Sportive (defending champions) returned with a loss from Tanzania's Simba with a clean goal, the day before yesterday, in Dar es Salaam. The goal was scored by Jean Baleki (31). The Moroccan team was affected by several factors, including playing in rainy conditions, and the absence of influential players, especially Senegalese goalscorer Polly Sambo and goalkeeper Ahmed Reda Teknouti. The 'Wydad of the Nation' performed the worst since the Spaniard Juan Carlos Garrido took charge of the team, but the opportunity is allowed to compensate in the second leg next Friday in Casablanca.
South African Warning
South Africa's Mamelodi Sundowns issued a strong warning to their rivals after beating hosts Chabab Belouizdad 4-1 at the Nelson Mandela Stadium in Algiers.
Despite the hosts' slight advantage in possession, the danger was consistently South African, led by the trio of Themba Zwane, Namibian Peter Chaululili and Thapelo Morena, and the Algerian defence bore a heavy burden, but it did not last long.
Belouizdad's players walked off the pitch to boos from angry fans after the team was close to exiting the continental competition. Sundowns will host the second leg of the quarter-finals in Pretoria on Saturday, with the winner of this clash qualifying to play Morocco's Wydad (defending champions) or Tanzania's Simba. Belouizdad's loss comes as a new blow to Algerian football in the Champions League, after local rivals JS Kabylie lost at home to Esperance Tunis by a goal in the first leg of the quarter-finals, and Algerian clubs are expected to miss the semifinals.