CAF CL: Al Ahly beat Cotonsport in Cairo to register first Group A victory

Record champions Al Ahly clinched their first victory in Group A of the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League after seeing off Cameroon’s Cotonsports 3-0 in Cairo on Saturday.

Mohamed Sherif and Ahmed Kendouci gave the Red Devils  a 2-0 lead at halftime before teen midfielder Khalil Raafat scored the third deep into stoppage time in the second half. The victory took Ahly to four points, two shy of second placed Al Hilal and four behind group leaders Mamelodi Sundowns.

Cotonsport on the other hand suffered their third successive defeat and remains bottom of the table with no point.

Ahly knew they had to win to put their campaign on track and it took them just 53seconds to get into the lead, Sherif breaking the deadlock with a fine finish from a Mohamed Taher cross.

The Egyptian giants continued dominating and were a threat infront of goal. They were denied by the bar minutes later when Hamdi Fathi struck from inside the box.

The home side was forced into a change with 10 minutes to the break, Sherif limping off and replaced by Shadi Hussein.

Five minutes to the break, Ahly pulled themselves a distance safe when Kendouci finished off an assist from Ali Maaloul with a fine header, his first goal for Ahly after joining them last month.

Ahly dominated as much in the second half, with chances to score but couldn’t extend the tally. They however achieved a third goal to put the game to bed in the 92nd minute, Maaloul turning provider again, this time laying off for Khalil to score the third.