Nigeria’s Sunshine Stars drew 3-3 with
Al Ahly of Egypt in a CAF Champions
League first leg semi-final on Saturday
in Ijebu-Ode.
Ahly enjoy the advantage going into
second leg in Cairo in two weeks as
they have scored three goals away
from home.
However, a defiant Sunshine coach
Gbenga Ogunbote told
reporters that his team are
from out of reckoning for a place in
the final against the winners of the
other semi-final between defending
champions Esperance and TP
Mazembe from DR Congo.
"It is not over. We will go to Cairo for
our result to take us to final,” said
Ogunbote.
“If we get the kind of officiating that
we had here in Cairo, we will get to
final.”
Record winners Ahly looked like they
had got the game in the bag after they
took a 2-0 lead after half an hour as
their hosts showed them too much
respect.
The Egyptian champions went in front
in the 18th minute through striker
Mohamed ‘Geddo’ Nagy, whose shot
from outside the box beat Sunshine
goalkeeper Moses Ocheje.
Ahly doubled their advantage through
Mahdy El Sayed in the 30th minute
when he squeezed the ball home
from an acute angle.
Sunshine reduced the deficit in the
40th minute, when Cameroonian
midfielder Tamen Medrano curler
from the edge of the box flew beyond
Ahly goalkeeper Sherif Elkramy.
The home team restored parity in the
73rd minute from the penalty spot
through Dele Olorundare after a goal-
bound Ajani Ibrahim was upended by
Mohamed Nagy.
However, the Red Devils from Cairo
restored their lead a minute later
when 25-year-old Nagy scored his
second goal of the day.
Sunshine defender Precious Osasco
ensured the spoils were shared in this
encounter when in the 83rd minute
he fired his a 25-yard free kick past
Elkramy to bring scores to 3-3.
Nagy had a chance to complete his
hat-trick three minutes from time but
his header off a corner from inside
the box somehow missed the target.
And at the other end of the pitch,
Olorundare’s drive was saved by the
Ahly goalkeeper on the dot of full
time.
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