The coach of Al-Ahly of Egypt, Marcel Koller, commented on the result of his team’s match against Sun Downs, South Africa, which ended in a 5-2 loss to the Egyptian club.
Kohler stressed in statements after the match that Sun Downs deserved to win, adding that the South African club was the best in the first half.
Al-Ahly coach explained: “We made some adjustments in the second half, improved performance, and managed to reduce the difference, but Sun Downs took advantage of counter-attacks to win,” according to the Egyptian newspaper, Al-Ahram.
Al-Ahly suffered a “heavy” defeat in the summit match of the African Champions League, at the hands of Sun Downs, with a score of 2-5.
The South African champion dominated the match, scoring 3 goals in one half, and while Al-Ahly tried to return with the goals of Muhammad Sharif and Percy Tao, his dreams were shattered with the fourth Sun Downs goal in the 72nd minute, then the fifth in the 88th minute.
The result represented the heaviest defeat for Al-Ahly in Africa in a long time, and complicated its chances of qualifying for the quarter-finals, with two matches remaining in the group.
Al-Ahly had defeated the Cameroonian Cotton Club, defeated by the Sudanese Al-Hilal, and tied in the first leg against Sun Downs.
Al-Ahly ranks third with 4 points, while Sun Downs leads with 10 points, Al-Hilal 9 points, and Al-Qatan without points.
How can Al-Ahly qualify for the quarter-finals of the African Champions League?
- Victory in the two remaining matches against Cameroonian Cotton at home, and then against the Sudanese Crescent in Cairo.
- In the event that Al-Hilal is defeated by Sun Downs in Omdurman and then by Al-Ahly in Cairo, the Egyptian team qualifies directly.
- In the event of a tie for Al-Hilal against Sun Downs in Omdurman, Al-Ahly will have to defeat Al-Hilal with a score of 1-0 or by two goals in the last round, as the result of the victory 2-1 or 3-2 will mean that Al-Hilal qualified on the away goals difference during the direct confrontations.
- As for the event that Al-Hilal wins in its next match at its home stadium against Sun Downs, this will mean that Al-Ahly will officially exit.
