Ahly hold on for draw in Casablanca to make Total Energies CL semis
Published:
Record winners Al Ahly have made it into a sixth consecutive semi-final of the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League after holding off for a 0-0 draw with Morocco’s Raja Club Athletic in Casablanca on Saturday.
The result sees Ahly go through 2-0 on aggregate, as they won by the same scoreline in the first leg played in Cairo last weekend.
Raja have bowed out against Ahly for a second consecutive season, having also met the Egyptians at the same stage last term. The home side will only have themselves to blame after squandering a myriad of scoring opportunities including a penalty right at halftime.
Playing at their iconic Mohamed V Complex, Raja hoped for a push from the crowd as they looked to overturn the 2-0 first leg deficit.
They pressured Ahly to defend deep and they had a chance finally after 28 minutes when Yousri Bouzouk found shooting space from a tight angle but Mohamed Elshenawy made a great save for a corner.
At the stroke of halftime, Raja were handed a golden chance to break the deadlock when an on-field review of the VAR by the referee awarded them a penalty following an Aliou Dieng foul on Bouzouk inside the box.
The Algerian took responsibility on his shoulders, but sent his penalty cracking under the bar, much to the relief of the Ahly players.
In the second half, Raja continued camping in Ahly’s half, but were never fortunate to score at least one goal to push their bid.
With quarter of an hour gone, they had another superb opportunity when a superb cross from the right found the run of Hamza Khabba at the backpost, but the latter’s touch went wide with the keeper well beaten.
Ahly did their bit well, defending their aggregate cushion to make the last four and keep their hopes of an 11th African title alive.
