Al Ahly coach Pitso Mosimane says his team will aim to beat Mamelodi Sundowns in SA, after his Caf Champions League back-to-back defending champions were stunned 1-0 by the Brazilians in their Group A match on Saturday night.
The defeat at Cairo International Stadium, thanks to Thapelo Morena’s 85th-minute strike, left Ahly on just a point from two matches having started with a 0-0 draw away against Al-Hilal in Sudan.
Sundowns, after their first win in Egypt against Ahly, top Group A with seven points from three games. Al-Merrikh (four from two), also from Sudan, are in second place. Ahly are in third and Hilal (one from three) in fourth.
“Of course, we are very sad about the result. It’s a match that I didn’t want to lose. These things happen in football,” Mosimane said afterwards.
“I can’t blame the team. We had many opportunities to score. I always knew that if we had any threat it would come from counterattacks.
“I congratulate Mamelodi Sundowns on winning. I think we have to qualify through the hardest way. We have to try to win in SA. We can do that.
“I will always ask Caf to use VAR throughout the whole competition. The opponents' goalkeeper used his hand to save the ball from outside the box. Also, I believe Percy Tau was onside when he scored.
“However, we don’t blame the absence of VAR for the loss. We had many opportunities that we should have scored from.
“We can’t escape that we have played two games in the Caf Champions League group stage without scoring.”
The win was Downs' first against Ahly in Cairo. The Red Devils are playing catch-up in matches in the group due to winning a second successive bronze medal at the Fifa Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi this month.
Sundowns gained some form of revenge for last year's 3-1 aggregate quarterfinal exit against Ahly and the result will leave the Pretoria team confident of topping the group.
Pitso: 'Al Ahly need to beat Mamelodi Sundowns in SA'
Image: Weam Mostafa/BackpagePix
Al Ahly coach Pitso Mosimane says his team will aim to beat Mamelodi Sundowns in SA, after his Caf Champions League back-to-back defending champions were stunned 1-0 by the Brazilians in their Group A match on Saturday night.
The defeat at Cairo International Stadium, thanks to Thapelo Morena’s 85th-minute strike, left Ahly on just a point from two matches having started with a 0-0 draw away against Al-Hilal in Sudan.
Sundowns, after their first win in Egypt against Ahly, top Group A with seven points from three games. Al-Merrikh (four from two), also from Sudan, are in second place. Ahly are in third and Hilal (one from three) in fourth.
“Of course, we are very sad about the result. It’s a match that I didn’t want to lose. These things happen in football,” Mosimane said afterwards.
“I can’t blame the team. We had many opportunities to score. I always knew that if we had any threat it would come from counterattacks.
“I congratulate Mamelodi Sundowns on winning. I think we have to qualify through the hardest way. We have to try to win in SA. We can do that.
“I will always ask Caf to use VAR throughout the whole competition. The opponents' goalkeeper used his hand to save the ball from outside the box. Also, I believe Percy Tau was onside when he scored.
“However, we don’t blame the absence of VAR for the loss. We had many opportunities that we should have scored from.
“We can’t escape that we have played two games in the Caf Champions League group stage without scoring.”
The win was Downs' first against Ahly in Cairo. The Red Devils are playing catch-up in matches in the group due to winning a second successive bronze medal at the Fifa Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi this month.
Sundowns gained some form of revenge for last year's 3-1 aggregate quarterfinal exit against Ahly and the result will leave the Pretoria team confident of topping the group.
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