South Africa national team forward Percy Tau scored a goal in each half to lead Egypt’s Al Ahly to a 2-0 first leg away victory over Tunisian champions Espérance ST in the CAF Champions League semifinals on Friday. Tau opened the scoring inside ten minutes and then produced a spectacular strike from distance before Kahraba finished the scoring to make Ahly heavy favorites to advance to a fourth consecutive Champions League final. The teams will meet again for the second leg next Friday in Cairo where Espérance will have to score at least two goals.
Espérance were forced to host Friday’s first leg in front of an empty crowd at the Stade Hammadi Agrebi in Tunis and suffered a major blow when Tau struck in the 8th minute. Ahly forward Kahraba’s pass rolled across the penalty area to find the South African for a hard low shot past EST goalkeeper Mohamed Sedki Debchi who could have done better.
The hosts controlled possession for long stretches but the counter-attack of Al Ahly was too good on Friday. Kahraba should have doubled the lead for the visitors in the 27th minute but put his shot wide after an excellent pass from Tau split the EST defense. However, Ahly continued to look dangerous and doubled their lead in the 56th minute through Tau who cut inside from the right wing and produced a couple of nifty moves before thumping a perfectly placed shot into the corner.
Ahly put themselves out of reach for the first leg and likely the tie with a third goal in the 75th minute. Aliou Dieng won the ball in the midfield and found the run of Hussein El Shahat on the left wing who crossed to set up an easy finish for Kahraba’s fifth Champions League goal. Ahly should have scored more against EST who continued to unravel in the closing stages of the match.
Watch the goals from the first leg below.
