Pirates defeat Al-Ahly to end group stage campaign unbeaten

Orlando Pirates kept their unbeaten run in the CAF Champions League group stage intact as they edged Al-Ahly 2-1 in a thrilling clash at the Cairo International Stadium on Saturday.

The win saw the Buccaneers also reclaim their top spot in Group C and they will be seeded when the draw for the quarterfinals is made.

ALSO READ: Sundowns aiming for maximum points against FAR

Relebohile Mofokeng and Tshegofatso Mabasa scored the goals for Pirates while Hussein Aly Elshahat netted the consolation goal for Al-Ahly.

The Buccaneers showed determination from the very beginning of the match and could have taken the lead in as early as the second minute. Mofokeng was put through on goal by Thalente Mbatha and instead of taking a shot at goal, he opted to cross the ball and there was no one there to tap it home.

Deon Hotto then tried his luck with a toe poke in the 10th minute, but the ball went over the crossbar.

Yasser Ahmed almost punished Pirates for their earlier misses five minutes later when he found himself unmarked inside the box, but mistimed his header and the ball went wide of goal.

Sipho Chaine then pulled off a great save to deny Khaled AbdelFattah in the 18th minute as the home side took control of the game and put the visitors under pressure.

Chaine was again well-positioned to make a save from Emam Ashour at the half hour mark as the Red Devils looked for the opening goal, but they had to settle for a draw at the break.

It took the Buccaneers only eight minutes to take the lead through Mofokeng who capitalised on a mixup at the back by the Al-Ahly defenders and calmly slotted the ball past Mostafa Shoubir.

Hussein Aly Elshahat then caught the Pirates defence napping in the 69th minute by beating the offside trap and lobbed the ball over Chaine for the equaliser.

ALSO READ: Official: Jayden Adams joins Sundowns from Stellenbosch FC

Substitute Tshegofatso Mabasa then made sure that Pirates took all the three points on offer with a brilliant header in the 83rd minute. The goal was awarded to Gilberto, but TV replays showed that the ball had already crossed the line before he slammed it home again.

Abou Ali thought he had grabbed the equaliser with a powerful volley. but the goal was disallowed for an offside.