Mosimane, Ahly players eager to make history | African News

Al Ahly captain Mohamed El Shenawy has declared that they want to make history by winning the Caf Champions League title for three successive seasons. Pitso Mosimane’s Ahly are on the brink of an eleventh title after putting one foot in the final with a convincing 4-0 win over Algeria’s ES Setif last weekend. 

They face their fellow North Africans at the Stade du 5 Juliet Stadium in Algiers at 21h00 [South African Time]. El Shenawy says there is a general belief that the current crop of players can make history. But the national team goalkeeper has warned his teammates not to take the Algerians lightly despite the comfortable lead.

“We expect tomorrow’s game to be a tough one. We aim to score and not concede any goals to ensure our qualification to the final. ES Setif are a tough team, and we were lucky enough to score four goals in the first leg. However, ES Setif remains one of the top teams in Africa,” El Shenawy told the club’s website. 

“We want to create history by winning the CAF Champions League title for the third consecutive season and eleventh in the club’s history.” The Fifa Club World Cup bronze medal winner, Mosimane, will be looking to add another trophy to his cabinet. For him, the African title triumph would be his fourth after winning the first with Mamelodi Sundowns in 2016.

Interestingly, his Downs attack was spearheaded by Percy Tau in 2016, the same man who scored twice and provided two assists in last weekend’s emphatic win. The Algerian outfit have tasted continental glory on two occasions. They first clinched it in 1988, and their last one was in 2014. 

Setif will need more than a brilliant performance to overcome the four-goal deficit. At least four goals will be required without conceding to take the game to the penalty shootout lottery. The hosts have had an inconsistent record at home in this competition. Having won three, drawn one and lost five of their last matches.

Surprisingly, the home side won the previous encounter by 2-1 when Al Ahly last visited in 2018. They will be hoping to repeat history dominantly on Saturday. The Algerians will need to perform a rampant display to overturn the tie. Mosimane stressed that Ahly’s 4-0 victory over Setif in the first leg is something of the past and that the team is entirely concentrated on the second leg to book a ticket to the final.

“It’s not over. We still have a game to play tomorrow against a tough team like ES Setif. They will have the home advantage, and history shows that some teams were able to qualify despite suffering from a heavy defeat in the first leg. Therefore, we are fully concentrated on Saturday’s game. We came here to score and win to ensure a spot in the final.”

“We know winning the second leg won’t be easy because we will be playing away from home; however, that’s our aim.”

Please follow and like us: