Al Ahly captain Mohamed El-Shenawy set the record straight about rumours of discontent within the team about the afternoon kickoff.
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On Sunday, the Red Devils are returning to South Africa for the second time in 2023 to face a team which is quickly becoming a big rival in Mamelodi Sundowns. The Egyptian juggernauts will, however, be hoping for a better showing than their visit to Loftus Versfeld in March where they were on the receiving end of a 5-2 drubbing by the PSL champions.
That defeat occurred in the CAF Champions League. This time the two powerhouses will face off in the African Football League. The final four encounter was original scheduled for 17:00 in Tshwane, something that is said to have angered the north Africans, but their skipper El Shenawy insists that the now 15:00 start is not an issue and that the Ahly players are accustomed to the time when they travel come to South Africa.
"It's not an issue for us," the 34-year-old told members of the media ahead of the first leg semi-final. "Everytime we play against [Mamelodi] Sundowns we know already that we will have to play at 15:00 so for us it's not a problem.
"We didn't speak to each other about it. For us, it is normal that when we come here, or in Africa, we always play at 15:00 so that's why we are prepared for this, its not something new.
"For us the most important thing is to be prepared well for the game and that is what we are going to do, to achieve a good result tomorrow and make the second game in Cairo easier for ourselves.
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"But we are not focusing on the time, we already knew that it was 15:00 and that is why for us the most important thing is to concentrate on the game.
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