African champions Ahly, Pyramids, Sundowns reach semi-finals

By AFP

April 10, 2025

Emam Ashour of African champions Ahly against Al Hilal in the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott. — Reuters/File

JOHANNESBURG: Al Ahly won, fellow Egyptian club Pyramids lost and Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa drew in away games as they all booked CAF Champions League semi-finals slots on Tuesday.

Emam Ashour scored on 80 minutes as record 12-time African champions Ahly beat homeless Sudanese side Al Hilal 1-0 in the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott for a 2-0 aggregate victory. Knockout stage debutants Pyramids fell 2-0 to FAR Rabat in Meknes, but the cushion of a three-goal lead from the first leg took them to the penultimate stage 4-3 on aggregate.

Sundowns avenged a semi-final loss to Esperance of Tunisia last season by forcing a 0-0 in Rades, which gave the Pretoria outfit a 1-0 overall victory. Ahly face Sundowns in the semi-finals, while Pyramids await the winners between Orlando Pirates and Mouloudia Alger, who meet on Wednesday in Soweto with the South Africans leading 1-0.

Forced to play home matches on the other side of the continent due to the Sudanese civil war, Hilal felt the absence of injured star striker Mohamed Abdelrahman. But they were one goal away from forcing a penalty shootout until a Taher Mohamed pass set up rising star Ashour to loft the ball over Ivorian goalkeeper Issa Fofana from close range.

That proved the killer blow as Hilal now needed to score at least three times against Ahly, a team renowned for their ability to achieve clean sheets.

In Morocco, Youssef el Fahli netted after eight minutes and Democratic Republic of Congo-born Joel Beya struck eight minutes from time, but it was not enough as 1985 champions FAR bowed out. El Fahli got the Moroccan military club off to a perfect start as he volleyed a cutback into the far corner of the net.

Pyramids thought they had equalised just before half-time, but TV replays showed Congolese Fiston Mayele was well offside before putting the ball in the net. Slick passing set up Beya for the second goal, creating a tense finish before Pyramids sealed a last-four place in only their second Champions League appearance.