2024-03-31 19:01:06
A scoreless draw dominated the three first-leg matches in the CAF Champions League on Saturday, as Tunisia’s Esperance, Tanzania’s Young Africans, and Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Mazembe failed to exploit home advantage against Ivory Coast’s ASEC Mimosas, South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns, and Petro de Luanda. Angolan.
Only Al-Ahly of Egypt, the defending champion, benefited in the first-leg matches by defeating its guest, Simba of Tanzania, on Friday, with a goal by Ahmed Nabil (Koka), to put one foot in the golden square.
Esperance, aspiring to the fifth title in its history and the first since 2019, gave up a good opportunity to score a comfortable victory at the expense of its guest ASEC Mimosas. The confrontation was devoid of goals at Hammadi Al-Aqrabi Stadium in Rades, in front of about 30,000 spectators.
The “Bab Souika” team tried to exploit the factors on the ground and the public support, to achieve what it aspires to, as it controlled the events from the first minutes of the match, while the Ivorian team with all its members retreated to the defense.
The Tunisian team shot 22 balls towards the Ivorian goal, compared to 3 for the Mimosa players. The Esperance players also had 80 percent possession of the ball, but without any effectiveness.
Goalkeeper Charles Foley bore a great burden. However, he excelled in defending his goal, in the face of various Tunisian shots, especially from the Brazilians Yann Sass and Rodrigo Rodriguez.
The Mimosa players almost shocked the hosts when Esperance midfielder Raed Bouchnaiba made a mistake in controlling the ball. He stumbled and Mimosa striker Movos Karidola snatched it, but his shot went past the Tunisian goal in the 27th minute.
Ghilan Chaalali played a cross towards ASEC’s goal, and the goalkeeper sent it away for a corner before deceiving him in the 30th minute. Goalkeeper Foley also excelled in blocking Algerian Mohamed Amine Togay’s shot in the 41st minute.
Portuguese Esperance coach Miguel Cardoso made two substitutions to revitalize his squad at the start of the second half, bringing on both Mohamed Ben Ali and striker Oussama Bougherra, so the team strengthened its advantage and control, and Congolese Democrat Andre Bukea also left the confrontation injured.
Tugay fired a long-range missile that went over the crossbar in the 59th minute, and Chaalali’s close header went over the goal in the 63rd minute.
Substitute Bougherra’s shot from the edge of the penalty area was blocked by the crossbar in the 64th minute. Brazilian Rodriguez made a mistake in putting the ball into the ivory net; His header passed the goal in the 75th minute.
Rodriguez repeated the same thing, when he shot over the crossbar following a wonderful cross from Mohamed Amine Ben Hamida in the 88th minute.
The two teams will meet next week in Abidjan; The winner will face the winner of Sundowns and Young Africans.
The goalless draw dominated the match between South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns, who are favorites for the title after winning the African League title last summer, with their guest, Young Africans of Tanzania, participating for the first time, in front of 60,000 spectators at the Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium in Dar es Salaam.
The match did not live up to the expected level, especially on the part of Sundowns players, as its international goalkeeper, Ronwen Williams, stood out when he blocked a missile shot from Burkini Aziz Key in the 27th minute.
Teboho Mokoena fired a powerful shot from a direct free kick, which passed over the Tanzanian goal in the 45th minute.
The home team relied on rebounds, and Aziz almost reached Sundowns’ net. But his long shot went over the crossbar in the 54th minute.
Williams also blocked a powerful shot from Burkini Aziz Key in the 60th minute.
The South African team tightened its control in the last minutes, but did not reach the Tanzanian net. The decision will be postponed until their confrontation in the second leg of the quarter-finals, next week, in Pretoria.
Democratic Republic of the Congo Mazembe, seeking its sixth title in the competition and its first since 2015, failed to translate its absolute advantage in the match against its guest Petro de Luanda of Angola, as it ended in a goalless draw in Lubumbashi.
The hosts completely controlled the proceedings, and they fired 28 shots at their Angolan guest’s goal, compared to two shots by Petro de Luanda players.
The Angolan team kept a clean sheet for the seventh match in a row. Where goalkeeper Hugo Marques excelled in defending his net; Especially in front of Joel Villa’s long shot in the 11th minute.
In the final minutes, Mazembe intensified its chances, and Mauritanian full-back Ibrahima Keita shot a ball that was blocked by Petro’s goalkeeper in the 85th minute, and Villa almost snatched the lead for his team with a header from close range, which Marques saved with his fingertips and turned it into a corner in the second minute of stoppage time.
The decision was postponed until the return leg next week in Luanda. The winner will face the winner of Al-Ahly of Egypt and Simba of Tanzania.
Suggest a correction
2024-03-31 19:01:06