Mamelodi Sundowns have played out a 1-1 draw with Al Hilal in Sudan to keep Al Ahly’s CAF Champions League hopes alive.
Entering the fifth round, Al Ahly knew they must win their remaining final two games against Coton Sport in Cameroon and Al Hilal in Cairo in addition to the latter not beating Sundowns on Saturday in Sudan.
First, Al Ahly ran riot in Cameroon, thanks to Mahmoud Kahraba’s hattrick and Percy Tau’s work rate to win 4-0, which kept their dream alive.
They now had to wait for Rhulani Mokwena’s promise of playing fairly in Sudan, which the South African coach met with a tough a1-1 draw in Omdurman.
The hosts had a couple of chances to score in the first-half, but couldn’t beat Ronwen Williams as both teams entered the break searching for the opening goal.
Sundowns were a much better side after the break and managed to break the deadlock through Khuliso Mudau in the 67th minute, taking advantage of poor goalkeeping from Ali Abou Achrine.
Al Hilal needed just five minutes to get the equaliser through Mohamed Abdel Raman following a howler from goalkeeper Ronwen Williams to make it 1-1.
The Sudanese giants kept searching for the winner that would secure their spot in the quarter-finals and their hard work was rewarded when they won a penalty in the added time after Yaser Muzmel was brought down inside the penalty area by Brian Mandela.
Skipper and former Smouha right-back Atthar El-Tahir stepped up, but was denied with a big save from Ronwen Williams, which ended the game in a 1-1 draw.
The draw now means that Al Ahly have their fate into their own hands as they host Al Hilal in the final round in Cairo, with a 1-0 or two-goal margin win enough for the Reds to advance.
Any one-goal margin win other than 1-0 would see Al Hilal go through due to the head-to-head result as the Sudanese outfit won the first-leg 1-0.
