Percy Tau bagged two goals and two assists as Al Ahly beat ten-man ES Setif 4-0 in their first leg CAF Champions League semi-final in Cairo on Saturday evening.
Tau, who was recently dropped by Pitso Mosimane from the starting line-up was restored to the eleven with mixed reception – but his role in the victory will surely have silenced many critics.
The South Africa international has been criticised during his recent run of indifferent form while Mosimane admitted their lack of cutting edge in attack has been concerning.
It appeared as if it was going to be the same move after the first 20 minutes as the Red Devils dominated possession but failed to take advantage of it with Setif showing their usual defensive resilience, this after the early frustration for the home supporters when Taher Mohamed’s strike after two minutes was correctly ruled out through VAR.
But moments later Tau brought about a collective sigh of relief when Taher sent in a pin-point cross for Tau to get his head on and ease it past the onrushing Sofiane Khedairia, one of the standout players of the competition this season.
Things went from bad to worse for the Algerian giants when veteran midfielder Ahmed Karaoui received a red card for a stamp on Hussein El-Shahat’s ankle which looked to have ended any chance of the visitors getting back into the tie.
In the second half, it was one-way traffic as Mosimane’s men took full control with their numerical advantage and Tau went on to turn provider for Taher as they doubled the lead in the 54th minute before late strikes from Mohamed Sherif, with Tau setting him up and then Mohamed Hany setting the Bafana Bafana star for a tap-in for the fourth.
Setif need to score five unanswered goals in Algiers next week in order to advance past the reigning champions who are overwhelming favourites to secure a third consecutive final.
