2 April 2011
SuperSport United defeated Al Ahly 1-0 in their CAF Champions League first round, second leg match at the Peter Mokaba Stadium on Saturday night, but it was not enough to stop the Egyptians advancing to the second round on aggregate.
Leading 2-0 from the first leg, Al Ahly were outplayed by Matsatsantsa on the night but did enough to restrict the South African team to a 1-0 score line that ensured a 2-1 aggregate victory for the six-time champs.
SuperSport started brightly and almost took the lead inside the first ten minutes, with Dipsy Selolwane hitting the upright with a shot from the edge of the D of the Al Ahly penalty area.
The hosts may have only had one striker on the pitch in the shape of Kermit Erasmus, but he was given willing support from midfield and United certainly looked the likelier scorers in the first half.
On 28 minutes, after Wael Gomaa had cynically pulled down Erasmus just outside the box, Jabu Maluleke broke the deadlock with a superb goal direct from the free kick; his curling shot went in off the underside of the crossbar.
Sensing that the game was very much in the balance so early on, Al Ahly coach Manuel Jose acted decisively in sending on Mohamed Aboutrika (in place of defender Sherif Abdul-Fadil) in the last minute of regulation time in the first half.
Yet the hosts continued to dominate in the second half, although they were unable to really stretch the Al Ahly defence and find a goal to level the tie on aggregate and send it to extra time and penalties.
United could also count themselves very unlucky to have two strong penalty appeals turned down by referee Rajindraparsad Seechurn, as both Tebogo Langerman and Lyle Lakay were both brought down off the ball by Wael Gomaa.
SuperSport United (1) 1 (Maluleke 28)
Al Ahly 0
Al Ahly win 2-1 on aggregate
SuperSport: (4-5-1) Fernandez; September, Gould, Gabonamong, Katza (Lakay 70); Maluleke, Ntshumayelo, Selolwane, Madubanya (Carnell 76), Langerman; Erasmus
Al Ahly: (3-5-2) Adel; Abdul-Fadil (Aboutrika 45), Gomaa, Al-Sayed; Fathi, Ashour, Ghaly, Shawky, Moawad (Ashraf 58); Nagy (Moataz 80), Da Silva
