Eman Ashour in the 80th minute ended Al-Hilal Oumdurmna’s slim hope of beating Al-Ahly. The midfielder’s strike was the final nail in the Sudanese coffin. The 1-0 win in Mauritania ensured that Al Ahly beat Al-Hilal Omdurman home and away (2-0 on aggregate).
Mamelodi Sundowns secured an important goalless draw in Tunis against Esperance Sportive du Tunis to qualify 1-0 on aggregate. The South Africans were tactically good after showing they had learnt their lessons from last season’s home and away defeats to the Tunisians in the semi-finals. Both sides created enough chances but failed to utilize them.
FAR Rabat won 2-0 in a fierce contest against Egyptian side Pyramids. The first leg ended 4-1 in favor of the Egyptians, and they were miles ahead of the Moroccans in the first leg. FAR Rabat in Morocco took the lead through El Fahil in the 10th minute. The early goal gave the FAR fans the confidence and belief for an impossible comeback. Fiston Mayele equalized in the 45th minute, but VAR ruled the goal out due to offside. The home fans were so happy about the referee’s decision, but the away side was disappointed. FAR went into the break leading by a lone goal.
In the second half, FAR decided to go all out but were not clinical enough to convert their chances. However, they scored their second goal through Congolese forward Joel Beya to reduce the deficit. It was 4-3 on aggregate with 10 minutes to end the full 90. Confidence was high with FAR fans encouraging their men, but Pyramids defended deep and did not concede again. The game ended 2-0 in favor of FAR, but they were eliminated on aggregate (4-3).
