The green half of Tripoli was celebrating all night long after Al Ahli Tripoli secured a 3-0 victory over Al Akhdar in the 2023 final of the Libyan Cup on Tuesday evening at the Hammadi Agrabi Stadium in Radès, Tunisia. Goals from Ahmed El-Terbi, John Okoye Ebuka and Anis Saltou confirmed a seventh domestic cup trophy for Ahli and moved them level with Tripoli rivals Al-Ittihad for the most in Libyan football history. Ahli secure a spot in next season’s CAF Confederation Cup with the victory and will now turn their attention back to the ongoing Libyan Premier League season in an attempt to claim the championship back from defending champions Ittihad.
Al Akhdar, participants in the group stage of this season’s CAF Confederation Cup, featured a powerful attack led by former Ghana national team striker Richmond Boakye as well as Angola national team forward Ary Papel and gave Ahli plenty of trouble in the first half. Each team came close in an opening forty-five minutes lacking in opportunities with Ahli midfielder Ayoub Ayed’s effort blocked by desperate defending from Akhdar. Just before halftime Boakye flicked a corner kick into a dangerous area but none of his Akhdar teammates could manage a shot on target.
The match opened up for Ahli in the second half when Akhdar midfielder Sohaib Soliman received a second yellow card to reduce the Greens to ten players in the 66th minute. The breakthrough arrived in the 77th minute for Ahli when a dangerous free kick from out wide fell kindly and El-Terbi was left with an easy finish from close range. Substitute Nouradin Elgelaib set up Ebuka for an easy finish in the 83rd minute to put Ahli beyond reach and Saltou’s shot deflected in a few minutes later to add to the celebrations.
Highlights of the final are below.
