Africa’s Orlando Pirates delivered a stunning 2-1 defeat to Egypt’s Al Ahly at Cairo Stadium, clinching top spot in Group C of the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League on Saturday.
Relebohile Mofokeng broke the deadlock in the 53rd minute, capitalising on defensive errors. Al Ahly levelled in the 69th minute through Hussein El Shahat, who brilliantly lobbed Orlando’s keeper.
However, Gilberto’s late strike in the 83rd minute sealed the win for the visitors.
Al Ahly had their chances but were left frustrated following Rami Rabia’s disallowed goal which could have restored parity.
Despite the loss, Al Ahly, led by Marcel Koller, advanced as group runners-up with 10 points, while Orlando topped the group with 14 points.
In the other Group match, Algerian giants, Chabab Belouizdad, dismantled Stade d’Abidjan 6-0 in their final group fixture.
A clinical display at the July 5th Stadium saw Abdel Rahman Meziane, Mohamed Islam Belkheir, Aymen Mahious, Razki Hamroun, and Marouane Zerrouki find the net in a dominant performance.
Chabab Belouizdad, now with 9 points, narrowly missed out on quarter-final qualification, finishing third in the group. Stade d’Abidjan, winless with just one point, ended their campaign at the bottom of the group.
Earlier in the day, MC Alger secured their place in the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League quarter-finals, following a goalless draw against Young Africans in Tanzania on Saturday.
The Algerian side needed just a point to join already-qualified Al Hilal in the knockout stages, and their professional display saw them finish second in Group A with nine points.
The stalemate ended Young Africans’ hopes of progression, with the Tanzanian champions finishing third on eight points despite an impressive debut campaign in the group stages.
The result means both North African sides advance from Group A, with TP Mazembe finishing bottom despite their convincing victory over Al Hilal in the other match.
In the group’s other game, TP Mazembe ended their campaign with an emphatic 4-0 victory over group winners Al Hilal in Kinshasa on Saturday.
Despite already being eliminated, the DR Congo giants produced their best performance of this season’s competition with Jean Diouf opening the scoring in the 21st minute before Ibrahima Keita doubled the lead eight minutes later.
Mercy Ngembe added a third just before the hour mark, with Souleymane Chaibou completing the rout in the 89th minute.
The result had no bearing on Al Hilal’s position as Group A winners, having already secured qualification with 10 points from their previous matches. —CAFonline.com
