By Mark Ogagan
South African champions Mamelodi Sundowns stunned favourites Al-Ahly to book their spot in the CAF Champions League final after a dramatic 1-1 draw at the Cairo International Stadium on Friday night.
The away goal proved decisive, sending the South African side through, following a goalless ending in Pretoria last week.
The win sets up a potentially exciting final between Sundowns and another Egyptian side, Pyramids, who eliminated Orlando Pirates also on Friday night.
Sundowns made just one change from last weekend’s goalless first-leg in Tshwane, as Arthur Sales came in for Peter Shalulile upfront.
The Cairo Red Devils were buoyed by a strong home-crowd and grabbed the lead on 23 minutes when Taher Mohamed fired home after latching onto a pass from Emam Ashour.
Masandawana looked to star man Lucas Ribeiro for inspiration, with the Brazilian going on a mazy run to set-up Tashreeq Matthews in the area but the hosts cleared their lines.
Al Ahly almost doubled their lead on the half-hour mark through a powerful shot at the near post effort by Ashour, but it was well saved by Ronwen Williams.
The hosts searched relentlessly for a second goal but Williams needed to go down to his near post once more to thwart Ahmed Reda’s clever shot.
Sundowns came out guns blazing in the second period and pinned the home team in their half, with Thapelo Morena nearly going close with a glancing header from a corner-kick.
There was a nervous moment for the hosts after the hour mark when Ribeiro went down in the area which warranted a check by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), but no penalty was awarded after the review.
Sundowns then opted to bring on influential midfielder Themba Zwane at the same time and sacrificed Bafana Bafana international Jayden Adams.
Despite the clock running out, the South African champions remained confident and were rewarded on 90 minutes when Yasser Ibrahim guided a snap shot by Iqraam Rayners into his own net, which gave the visitors a crucial away goal.
Masandawana were able to see off a late push from Al Aly in 10 minutes of added time to secure a spot in the final of the tournament on the away-goal rule for the first time since 2016.
It’s Sundowns third final in the money-spinning competition following similar success in 2001 and 2016.
How the teams lined up
Al Ahly: El Shenawy, Rabia, Yasser, Marawan Attia, Dari, Ashour, Reda, El Aash, Taher, Hany.
Sundowns: Williams, Mudau, Kekana, Lebusa, Modiba, Mokoena, Allende, Adams, Matthews, Sales, Ribeiro
Subs: Onyango, Suarez, Lunga, Morena, Mkhulise, Aubaas, Shalulile, Zwane, Rayners.
Photo credit: Kick Off
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