Pitso Mosimane led Al Ahly to a third consecutive CAF Champions League semi-final after a 3-2 aggregate win over Raja Athletic Club in a hostile Stade Mohamed V on Saturday morning.
The game which kicked off at midnight due to most of the players from both sides fasting during the Holy Month of Ramadan was played at a frantic pace despite the unsavoury scenes prior to kickoff.
It’s been reported in Morrocan media that 45,000 tickets were made available but thousands of Raja fans stormed the gates and climbed over fences in order to get a glimpse of the second-leg quarter-final tie.
Ahly held a slender 2-1 advantage from the first leg in Cairo but had an uphill task to qualify for the last four when Fabrice Ngoma snuck his header in at the far post after just five minutes into the game.
It spurned the champions into life quickly and they were duly awarded a penalty 15 minutes later when Magette Ndiaye consulted VAR for a challenge of Hussein El-Shahat.
But Ali Maâloul, who returned to the lineup after missing the first leg saw his penalty saved, which was remarkably not given as a retake after clear encroachment.
Ahly managed to put the disappointment behind them in front of over 60,000 supporters rallying the Green Eagles in Casablanca and silence them on the brink of half-time when 22-year-old defender Mohamed Abdelmonem found the equaliser to put them ahead on aggregate.
After being punished for defending too deep Ahly came out the blocks quickly with Mosimane clearly advising his squad to chase the second to put the tie to bed, but Percy Tau, who was notably struggling all evening spurned a glorious chance ten minutes into the second half as he went one on one with Mohamed Zniti.
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It was end to end action for the remainder of the game as Raja chased their second goal to force the game into extra time but the experience and know-how of the record 10-time African champions shone through as they expertly saw out the tie with some time-wasting and a sting of substitutions from Mosimane.
Another tactical masterclass from the three-time CAF Champions League winner was completed as they had five shots on target from their eight attempts, while Raja only mustered three as they were forced into rushing their attacks as Ahly’s low block and swift counter-attacking worked in their favour.
The 3-2 aggregate win sets the Egyptian giants up with ES Setif, who shocked Esperance in Tunis earlier in the evening with a 1-0 victory on the night and on aggregate – despite their recent struggles in their domestic championship.
Line-ups
Al Ahly XI: El-Shennawy; Hany, Abdelmonem (Sherif 75′), Ibrahim, Maaloul, El-Solia, Dieng, Fathi, El-Shahat (Ashraf 57′), Taher (Abdelkader 74′), Tau (Mohsen 81′).
Raja XI: Zniti, Harkass, Haddad, Madkour, Jbira, Boulahroud (Habrti 68′), Ngoma, Makahasi, Zrida, Moutaouali (Benjdida 80′), Ahadad.
