Like a knife into your stomach!

Nadeem Nagi – Egyptian football journalist

Africa’s Club of the Century Al Ahly went down to a spirited M amelodi Sundowns in Cairo last week, the first time ever the Red Devils had lost to their Southern African rivals at their Cairo stronghold. The loss brought back painful memories of that 5-0 thrashing they suffered at the hands of the Brazilians at Lucas M oripe Stadium a few years ago. As a look back to this momentous occasion, Soccer Laduma’s Thomas

Kwenaite spoke to several influential figures in the Egyptian game, mostly fellow media practitioners, and the reaction from the passionate Ahly supporters was unbridled anger which some of them, perhaps in sheer frustration, directed at one of their most successful coaches, Pitso M osimane. The defeat, however, was cushioned by their bitter rivals Zamalek’s 3-1 smacking suffered against Wydad Casablanca on the same day.

Hosam Hasan - Supporter & Medical practitioner

Thomas Kwenaite: Give us your honest opinion about what was billed as “the match of the weekend” between defending champions Al Ahly and Mamelodi Sundowns.

Hosam Hasan: It was undoubtedly a tough match as we have come to expect any match between the two clubs (to be) during the last three years. Having said that, I honestly feel that Al Ahly dominated the game throughout the 90-minutes and should have easily wrapped it up during regulation time. Yes, Sundowns occasionally threatened, but Ahly kept it under control. I think their downfall was the glorious opportunities they fashioned but failed to convert, otherwise they could have killed the game as a contest. Sadly, they were shocked by that late goal from substitute Thapelo Morena and it was like experiencing a knife being plunged into your stomach!

TK: How do the people feel about the loss, particularly considering the fact that Ahly had never lost to Sundowns in Cairo before?

HH: They feel disgusted. Losing at home for the first time since 2016 was simply too painful to accept. Agreed, football is about winning and losing and, as sportsmen, you learn to accept defeat as much as you welcome victory, but this was too painful. But the supporters are also optimistic that Ahly will come back in the next three group matches and might even exact revenge in Pretoria (Ed’s note: The match will take place in Rustenburg) and go through to the knockout stages.

TK: What do you think could have contributed to the loss?

HH: My opinion is that the team really started to play only after 25 minutes. But in truth, they also missed countless easy chances that they created. I also think that coach Pitso Mosimane was conservative and should have been a little adventurous. He was supposed to have been braver by adding more attacking players, particularly in the second half. But I think he was too cautious in an attempt not to be caught with his pants down. But in the end, they surprised him with that last-gasp goal.

TK: How do Al Ahly players feel after some of them openly mentioned prior to the start of the game that they had not forgotten the infamous 5-0 loss?

HH: Deeply disappointed, of course. We expected a good reaction from them, but I am confident that in the next game against Al-Merrikh on Saturday, they will redeem themselves. Let me point out that we are not pressing panic buttons because we are used to Ahly starting late and only getting warmed up towards the tail end of the group stages. We agree that they have certainly been very sloppy during the last two editions of the CAF Champions League. They finished their group as runners-up with only 11 points but went on to win the championship. So, we are confident.

Damned if he wins, doubly damned if he loses

“They (Ahly players) are deeply disappointed and you can see they are hurting. Of course, it is not as painful as the 5-0 loss in Pretoria five years ago, but it still hurts nevertheless because they are not used to Ahly losing at home irrespective of who the opponent is. It has been difficult to accept. Most of the supporters are, whether justified or unjustified, blaming coach Pitso Mosimane for the loss. In any case, they always blame him when the team lose but forget when he wins. Sometimes their criticism is unfair on the man because in football, you win some and lose others. However, this time around, I heard some of the supporters actually pointing out to the ongoing contract negotiations between management and the coach and blaming him for allegedly leaking the information about the negotiations to the public while discussions were still at a delicate stage. You know Ahly supporters, they are very passionate and despite his success rate at the club, they always wait for any mistake and they take out their frustrations on him. It’s like he is damned if he wins and doubly damned if he loses. But Mosimane has not reached this level of coaching without understanding the dynamics of coaching a top club. And Ahly is not just a top club but an institution, the African Club of the Century and so, coaching a club with more than 70 million supporters must be the hottest position that comes with its own challenges and I’m sure Mosimane knew what he was getting himself into when he accepted the offer to coach the team. I think perhaps this has been a wake-up call. You must remember that Ahly have played only two matches in the group and they have only managed to secure a single point out of a possible six. There are still four matches to complete the group. I think there are still 12 points to play for and anything can still happen. I also think that the best of Ahly will be seen now that they are under pressure and on the backfoot. The next game will define their participation in the tournament, but I’m fairly confident that they will qualify. Do not forget that they are still going to come up against Sundowns in South Africa, and you can never predict what will happen between the two until the final whistle has been blown.”

A bitter pill to swallow

Ayman Atef - Journalist

Thomas Kwenaite: What has been the reaction of the Ahly fans following the loss to the South African giants?

Ayman Atef: Disappointed and very angry about the loss. I think they are still smarting from that memorable, if not painful, 5-0 thrashing inflicted by the same opponent a few years ago and although the players vowed never to subject their supporters to such a dreadful experience, another defeat to a team that is fast becoming bitter rivals was a painful pill to swallow. What I think made the defeat somewhat bearable was the heavy defeat suffered by their traditional rivals Zamalek, who were smacked 3-1 by Wydad Casablanca on the same day in Morocco, a loss that has resulted in their coach Patrice Carteron resigning from the club after leading them to the Egyptian league championship last season.

TK: What do you think contributed to the Red Devils’ loss over the weekend?

AA: I am not making excuses, but I still believe that both Al Ahly and Zamalek players are still suffering from the effects of the Afcon. I strongly believe that players still miss the required levels of concentration. They returned from the Afcon and while Ahly players proceeded to the FIFA Club World Cup in Qatar, they were still required to engage in domestic football fixtures that are coming thick and fast. I think the players are feeling the strain of the load they are required to carry on a daily basis and need to take things slowly, like you do when you go through pre-season preparations, and maybe things will get better.

TK: Do you think the referee and his assistants erred in not awarding Percy Tau’s goal?

AA: Initially, I thought so and was also upset, but I have been able to watch a replay of the match and went through that incident and have to grudgingly accept that the referee was correct to disallow the effort. However, I cannot say the same about an incident in which the Sundowns goalkeeper (Kennedy Mweene) “handled” the ball outside the area. I think the correct decision would have been to penalize him. But otherwise, the referee cannot be faulted about the general handling of the match.