Al Ahly Coach Reacts After Win Over Al Merrikh In African Champions League

Al Ahly coach Pitso Mosimane was pleased to start African Champions League title defence with a win against Al Merrikh on Tuesday night.

The Red Devils kicked off the group stage of the prestigious competition on a high note, securing a convincing 3-0 victory over the Red Castle in match played at Cairo International Stadium.

All the goals came in the second half courtesy of Magdi Afsha,  Mahmoud Kahraba and  Congolese forward Walter Bwalya, which saw the home side pick up all three points from a side seen as their direct rivals in the title challenge.

“We scored late today, but in the end, we managed to secure our first three points in the 2021 CAF Champions League group stage,” Mosimane told reporters.

[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]”Our opponent today stood their ground during the first half, but once we scored the opener we controlled the game.”[/perfectpullquote]

Mosimane added that he never changed the strategy of the game after a goalless first stanza thus he was delighted with overall performance of his players.

“I kept the team’s tactics the same even before scoring the goals. We depended today on the flanks as Al Merrikh were blocking our final third,” he explained.

“The crosses played an important role in today’s victory, as Kafsha managed to score the opener from [Mohamed] Hany’s cross.”

Al Ahly will travel to Tanzania on February 23 to face Simba in their next Gropp A match of African Champions League.