Al Ahly defeated Tanzania's Young Africans 1-0 to secure top spot in Group D of the CAF Champions League on Friday evening.
After being a mere substitute in the midweek win over El Mahalla, the host restored Percy Tau in addition to Ahmed Tawfik, Antony Modeste and Ahmed Nabil Koka whereas on the opposite end Zambian international Kennedy Musonda picked out their eleven.
In this top of the table clash in Group D, a win were imperative least for the record-breaking reigning champions in the hope to ascend the summit of the table standings.
With that though, the Tanzanian giants were but a difficult nut to crack and this very much turned out to be the case where they managed to keep the African powerhouse at bay.
Given the compact nature of events and score-less affair, either side were directed to the tunnel for halftime on an even placing and had their work cut-out in the second stanza.
The Cairo Red Devils instantly upped the ante a minute in the second half and hit the front when Hussein El Shahat capitalised on Ali Maaloul's layoff to find the net.
Ahly were well on the up and eagerly aimed for a second through intricate moves notable from Tau cutting in-field from out wide, but the Tanzanians weren't rattled to any effect.
With time ticking by, the visitors presented a double change in the hope of a comeback as Salum Abubakar and Nickson Kibabage stepped on the park.
In response, Marcel Koller pulled on a trio of new faces as they looked to maintain the balance of play thus had Emam Ashour, Taher Mohamed and Wessam Abou Ali.
The Cairo Red Devils weren't in danger but managed to sustain the lead and grabbed the win to finish on top of the group.
You must be SIGNED IN to read and post comments.
Click HERE to register!