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Ahly’s success meant that South African Pitso Mosimane became the third manager after Oscar Fullone of Argentina and Mahmoud el Gohary of Egypt to win the Champions League title with two clubs.
Al Ahly’s success meant that South African Pitso Mosimane became the third manager after Oscar Fullone and Mahmoud el Gohary to win the Champions League with 2 clubs. Image: Twitter @AlAhly.
CAIRO – A late goal by Mohamed ‘Afsha’ Magdy gave Al Ahly a dramatic 2-1 victory over Zamalek on Friday in a CAF Champions League final in Egypt in Cairo.
Magdy struck as injury time loomed behind closed doors due to the coronavirus pandemic after Amr el Soleya gave Ahly an early lead and ‘Shikabala’ scored a magnificent draw before the break.
With 85 minutes elapsed, Magdy controlled the ball with her knee out of the box and into the net to give Ahly the ninth Champions League title and the first since 2013.
The climax was in keeping with an exciting finale that completed a competition that began in August of last year and was constantly delayed by Covid-19.
Ahly’s success meant that South African Pitso Mosimane became the third manager after Oscar Fullone of Argentina and Mahmoud el Gohary of Egypt to win the Champions League title with two clubs.
Mosimane led South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns to a 3-1 aggregate victory over Zamalek in the 2016 title final.
Before kick-off in a stadium that would normally be packed to capacity for 74,000 for a Cairo derby, both teams observed a moment of silence in honor of Argentine icon Diego Maradona, who passed away on Wednesday.
Ahly took the lead in the fifth minute when Amr el Soleya rose to head hard for a corner kick into the net after goalkeeper Mohamed Abou Gabal conceded the set piece under pressure from Hussein el Shahat.
Driven by the dreamy start, the Cairo Red Devils use both wings to keep the White Knights under pressure in the first Champions League final with clubs from the same country.
When Zamalek advanced, they were no match for an Ahly defense that conceded just six goals in 14 games en route to the final.
– Memorable solo goal –
But any disappointment Zamalek fans experienced when watching the game live on national television disappeared after 31 minutes thanks to ‘Shikabala’.
One of many Egyptian footballers who prefer a nickname over his official name, in his case Mahmoud Abdelrazek Hassan Fadlala, ‘Shikabala’ tied with a memorable solo goal.
Receiving possession on the touchline, he exploded between two Ahly defenders, passed the ball to another, and then slammed a left-handed shot into the roof of the net.
Ahly Mohamed el Shennawy goalkeeper barely moved, such was the power and speed of a shot that he produced one of the greatest goals in the 55-year history of the CAF Champions League Finals.
Under the cosh for much of the first half, Zamalek would have been the happiest team to come off the pitch at halftime in a match that lives up to their “derby of the century” poster.
Ahly should have regained the lead eight minutes into the second half, but El Shahat hits a post with a sloppy goal in front of him and Mahmoud Ibrahim clears.
Woodworking came into play again midway through, this time preventing Zamalek from taking the lead when Ahmed ‘Zizo’ Sayed saw his firing barrel collide with a post.
As the frenetic pace inevitably slowed, El Soleya was given a yellow card for Sayed’s foul and Zamalek had a penalty appeal rejected by the Algerian referee.
Then, after 54 minutes with the teams tied, Magdy scored her third goal of the African campaign to give Ahly a record 20 CAF titles.
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