Ahly beat Esperance to go top, seal quarters place
Egyptian giants Al Ahly guaranteed their quarter finals spot by defeating North African rivals Esperance of Tunisia 1-0 away from home at Rades Stadium near Tunis on Friday night.
Ahly’s victory in the Group A penultimate fixture confirmed their superiority at Rades, as it was their fourth successive victory over Esperance at Tunisia's biggest stadium since 2012. It was also the first loss by Esperance at the group stage.
Moroccan-import Walid Azaro scored what turned out to be the decider after 32 minutes to take Ahly’s tally to ten points, same as already qualified Esperance, as both sides wrapped booked their place in the quarter final draw. Ahly tops the group on head-to-head basis, as the reverse fixture in Alexandria last May ended in a goalless draw.
Esperance had an early blow when striker Bilel Mejri got injured after just four minutes after a head collision with teammate Franck Kom. He was soon replaced by Anice Badri.
The hosts could have taken the lead after nine minutes when Taha Khenissi tried to find the net, but for Mohamed "Mido" Gaber’s timely clearance. Three minutes later, Ahly defender Saad Samir connected Ali Maaloul's corner kick but saw his effort missing the target narrowly.
Esperance's best chance of the opening stanza came at the quarter hour mark, when Khenissi’s shot seemed destined to break the deadlock, only for Azaro to head the ball out of danger.
Despite the ‘Blood and Gold’ having the lion share of possession, it was Ahly who had the most dangerous chances on target. And Azaro opened the scoring two minutes past the half-hour mark. Walid Soliman’s long pass was flick headed by Salif Coulibaly, and a misunderstanding between Esperance's goalkeeper Moez Ben Cherifia and defender Ayman Ben Mohamed saw Azaro tapping the ball inside the empty net to give Ahly the lead.
Esperance threw all in attack searching for the equalizer, but it was Ahly who could have doubled their lead just before the break when Soliman’s pass found Nasser Maher in a one on one situation with Ben Cherifia, only for the hosts goalkeeper to deflect the ball into a corner.
The second half was no different story, as the hosts searched for the equalizer in vain, while the visitors relied on counter attacks. It was Ahly who tested Ben Cherifia first again when Hesham Mohamed sent a powerful shot that found the Tunisian keeper alert after 58 minutes.
Ahly keeper Mohamed Elshennawy was called to action after 70 minutes rushing off line to save the ball ahead of Khenissi. Head coach Patrice Carteron opted for defensive substitutes trying to keep his side's lead and he managed to do that, as the final whistle came to see the record champions cementing their quarter final spot, having won their third game in a row since the Frenchman took charge last June.
Reactions
Khaled Ben Yahia (Head coach, Esperance)
We played an excellent game and played the way we wanted to. Al Ahly had two counter attacks in the first half. Our intention was to keep the ball away from their players to avoid their swift counter attacks. Unfortunately, we conceded a goal while our player was receiving treatment as we were outnumbered. Overall, I’m very satisfied with my players and the performance they gave. They were disciplined, tactic-wise and performance wise. Defeat is always painful, especially against Al Ahly. But we have to keep working and keep moving forward.
Anice Badri (Forward, Esperance)
We wanted to win the game to stay top of the group, especially playing at home. It is a harsh defeat. We played a good game overall and created many opportunities to score. We have learned many things from this game and we still have plenty of work to do to perform well in the quarter finals.
Patrice Carteron (Head Coach, Al Ahly)
We played a very solid game against Esperance, a team that has great offensive potential. We had to be very strong defensively, and we were. It’s a great game to be able to win 1-0 here in Rades. We could’ve have scored a second goal that would’ve given us a comfortable lead towards the end of the first half. We were well prepared and I’m very satisfied that we came here and won the game, and now top the group. We have another game against Kampala City Council Authority (KCCA) to reinforce our lead at the top.
Ali Maaloul (Defender, Al Ahly)
The most important thing is the qualification, and we didn’t want to wait until the last game. We came here knowing that it wasn’t going to be an easy game, especially against Esperance, who were the best team in the group. Today’s match was neck to neck. Esperance were stronger but we were more successful and confident.