Mamelodi Sundowns progressed to the CAF Champions League final on the away-goals rule following a 1-1 draw against Al Ahly in Cairo on Friday night.
Sundowns made just one change from last weekend’s goalless first-leg in Tshwane, as Arthur Sales came in for Peter Shalulile up top.
The Cairo Red Devils were buoyed by a strong home-crowd and grabbed the lead on 23 minutes when Taher Mohamed rifled ini the top corner after latching onto a pass from Emam Ashour.
Masandawana looked to star man Lucas Ribeiro for inspiration, with the Brazilian going on a mazy run to set-up Tashreeq Matthews in the area but the host cleared their lines.
Al Ahly, though, almost doubled the lead on the half-hour mark through a powerful shot at the near post effort by Ashour, but it was met with a strong save by Ronwen Williams.
The host didn’t stop probing for more goals later on in the half as Williams needed to go down to his near post once more to thwart Ahmed Reda’s clever shot.
Masandawana came out in the second period charged up in the hunt for a comeback and pinned the home team in their half, with Thapelo Morena nearly going close with a glancing header from a corner-kick.
There was a nervous moment for the host after the hour mark when Ribeiro went down in the area and warranted a check by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), but no penalty was awarded after the review.
Sundowns then opted to bring on influential midfielder Themba Zwane at the same time and sacrificed Bafana Bafana international Jayden Adams.
Despite the clock running out, the South African champions remained confident and were rewarded in added time when Yasser Ibrahim guided a snap shot by Iqraam Rayners into his own net, which gave the visitors an away goal on 90 minutes.
Masandawana were able to see off a late push from Al Aly in the ten minutes added on by the referee and secured a spot in the final of the tournament on the away-goal rule for the first time since 2016.
Confirmed line-ups:
Al Ahly: El Shenawy, Rabia, Yasser, Marawan Attia, Dari, Ashour, Reda, El Aash, Taher, Hany , Gradišar
Mamelodi Sundowns: Williams, Mudau, Kekana, Lebusa, Modiba, Mokoena, Allende, Adams, Matthews, Sales, Ribeiro
Subs: Onyango, Suarez, Lunga, Morena, Mkhulise, Aubaas, Shalulile, Zwane, Rayners.
