Ahly keep alive Champions League hopes

Ahly kept alive their hopes of booking a place in the CAF Champions League Ahly kept alive their hopes of booking a place in the CAF Champions League semifinal after holding Wydad Casablanca to a 1-1 draw in an entertaining clash at Mohamed V Stadium in Morocco on Sunday .
The Egyptian champions took a first-half lead after striker Mohamed Nagy “Gedo” finished off a flowing move. However, they were outplayed by Wydad in the second half as the Moroccans clearly had the upper hand in terms of fitness.
Wydad equalized early in the second half when a close-range header by central defender Abderrahim Benkajjane bounced in front of keeper Ahmed Adel and went in off the bar.
Ahly survived a late onslaught to secure a share of spoils and maintain a chance of reaching the semifinal for the second consecutive season. However, they are likely to face an uphill climb to achieve their aim.
The Cairo giants lie third in Group B with six points, one behind Wydad and three adrift of Tunisia’s Esperance with one match remaining.
If Wydad beat bottom side Mouloudia Alger in their last game, Ahly would need to overcome Esperance in Cairo with a two-goal margin to batter the Tunisians in the head-to-head record and go through.
Wydad are overwhelming favorites to defeat Mouloudia, who could only collect two points, and qualify for the last-four phase as the group leaders.
Striker Emad Meteb surprisingly started on the bench as Ahly coach Manuel Jose opted to rely on pacy duo Gedo and Dominique Da Silva upfront. The Portuguese’s decision bore fruit after Dominique and Gedo kept Wydad defenders on their toes throughout the first half.
Wydad created the first chance though when lively midfielder Youssef Kaddioui caught defender Mohamed Naguib napping at the far post to meet a left-wing cross with a right-foot volley that hit the side netting.
Ahly’s central midfield duo Hossam Ashour and Mohamed Shawky repeatedly tried to release the strikers with long balls behind Wydad’s static defence.
One of those passes picked out Dominique unmarked inside the area in the 26th minute but he blasted his shot wide with the goal at his mercy.
However, Ahly’s attempts paid off ten minutes later when veteran playmaker Mohamed Abou-Treika expertly headed a Sayed Moawad cross into the path of Gedo, who poked home from close range to silence the enthusiastic home crowd.
Yassine Lakhal almost brought Wydad level in the 39th minute but he was unlucky to see his curling shot strike the post.
In an equally frantic half, Wydad leveled the score two minutes after the restart when central defender Benkajjane beat defender Rami Rabeia to an in-swinging free-kick to head home past Ahly keeper Ahmed Adel.
Ahly briefly threatened to restore their advantage when two quick-fire shots from Abou-Treika and Dominique were blocked by Wydad’s in-form guardian Nader Lamyaghri but the hosts soon took firm control.
Looking weary and jaded, Ahly struggled to maintain their temp, allowing Wydad to lay siege to their area and create several goal-scoring opportunities.
Mouhcine Iajour almost put Wydad in front four minutes past the hour mark when he broke clear of defence after latching onto a defence-splitting pass but his poor shot missed the target.
Ahly needed a last-ditch interception from combative defender Wael Gomaa to prevent Wydad from going ahead nine minutes from time.
Adel rushed out to block a potential close-range shot from Kaddioui  after a neatly-worked counter attack but the talented midfielder instead squared the ball for Iajour, whose low shot was denied by a goal-line clearance from Gomaa.
Wydad piled on pressure in the dying minutes but could not find the net to keep all possibilities open in the last round.