Sunshine Stars 1-2 Ahly

The referee blows his half-time whistle 45 Another chance for Sunshine Stars!! Alaba Osawe almost equalises but his close-range and free header goes just wide. 45 Ahly keeper Sherif Ekramy brilliantly tips over a powerful drive from Tamen as Sunshine Stars pile on pressure before halftime. 44 Defender Wael Gomaa superbly blocks a powerful shot from Sunshine Stars on the edge of the area. 40 Ahly are still unsettling Sunshine's defence with their silky game. 35 Sunshine Stars score from their first genuine chance in a game dominated by Ahly. 34 Medrano Tamen pulls one back for the hosts. He cuts inside defender Wael Gomaa to curl a delightful right-foot shot past Ahly keeper Sherif Ekramy. 34 GOAAAAAAAL FOR SUNSHINE STARS!! 30 Hamdi repays the faith of El-Badry with a fine goal. He exchanges passes with left-back Ahmed Shedid on the left to break clear and dink the ball over the keeper from a tight angle. 30 GOAAAAAAAAAAAAL FOR AHLY!! 28 Ahly seem close to doubling their advantage. They are laying siege to Sunshine's area. 24 Sunshine Stars forward Azuka tries his luck once again but his long-range shot goes just over the bar. 22 Ahly are totally dominating the game. Their free-flowing football is too strong for the hapless hosts. 18 Mohamed Nagy 'Gedo' opens the scoring with a superb right-foot shot from the edge of the area. The unopposed forward makes no mistake with a precise effort. 18 GOAAAAAAAAAAAAL FOR AHLY!! 17 Sunshine Stars' Azuka Bobo Izu tries his luck from distance but his effort goes high over the bar. 15 Sunshine Stars are gradually matching their opponents. No threats yet, still a boring affair. 10 The visitors are having the upper hand in terms of possession, but they are yet to create goal-scoring opportunities. 7 Ahly forward El-Sayed Hamdi, who is given a rare start, is eager to prove himself after being largely confined to the bench by coach Hossam El-Badry. 3 Ahly look lively in the early stages. They are going on the offensive. 1 Ahly mount early threat! playmaker Abdallah El-Saied darts down the right flank before whipping a cross that is cleared by a Sunshine defender. The match is underway 15:55 Both sides step onto the pitch, five minutes before kick-off. 15:40 Ahly are bidding to win a seventh continental crown. The last time Ahly won the competition they overcame another Nigerian side in the semi-final. They beat Enyimba 1-0 on aggregate to go on and lift the trophy after defeating Cameroon’s Coton Sport in the 2008 final. 15:30 Ahly coach Hossam El-Badry opted to field two frontmen in Gedo and Hamdi. The team will have to do without a number of regulars, including striker Emad Meteb and left-back Sayed Moawad, who was replaced with Ahmed Shedid. 15:20 Ahly’s starting lineup: Sherif Ekrami, Ahmed Fathi, Wael Gomaa, Mohamed Naguib, Ahmed Shedid, Hossam Ghaly, Hossam Ashour, Walid Soliman, Mohamed Nagy ‘Gedo’, El-Sayed Hamdi. 15:15 The first leg takes place at Akure Township Stadium in Nigeria while the second will be held in Egypt in a fortnight. 15:15 Welcome to Ahram Online’s live coverage of Ahly’s clash against Nigeria’s Sunshine Stars in the first leg of the African Champions League semi-final. Ahram online