Al Hilal Omdurman and Al Ahly Share the Spoils, Egyptian Giants and Sudan’s Best Play Out to a Goalless Draw

• Al Ahly and Al Hilal Omdurman failed to find the back of the net as both teams played out a goalless draw
• Al Hilal Omdurman came into the game on the back of a defeat to Mamelodi Sundowns in their first encounter
• Al Ahly played their first game in the tournament after returning from the FIFA Club World Cup where they won a bronze medal

Egyptian giants Al Ahly and Sudan’s Al Hilal Omdurman played out to goalless draw in the Confederation of African Football(CAF)Champions League.

Al Ahly were competing in their first game in the tournament while Al Hilal Omdurman was playing their second fixture, after losing the first to Mamelodi Sundowns.

Al Hilal Omdurman looked much the stronger side during the encounter, often posing a threat down the wings.

Abdul Ajagun and Abakar Mugadam often found themselves with the ball at their feet in dangerous situations but couldn’t do anything with it. Mugadam should have opened the scoring in the sixth minute but his tame shot was easily scooped up by Ali Lotfi.

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Yasir El Tayeb was Al Hilal Omdurman's most threatening player and troubled the Al Ahly defence often.

Al Ahly would have heard about Al Hilal Omdurman's reputation as a physical team and Taher Mohamed found that out the hard way when he got a blow across the head by a flailing arm by Faris Abdalla.

Sundowns’ Gaston Sirino also experienced Al Hilal Omdurman’s physical side during Masandawana’s game with the Sudanese side. Sirino is still out with a nasal fracture as a result.

Al Ahly looked like a team that had just returned from the FIFA Club World Cup, as they never hit the levels that Pitso Mosimane would have expected from his team.

Their first and only meaningful attempt at goal only came in the 91st minute of the game when Mohamed Magdy’s shot bounced off the inside of the post.

Neither team could find a winner after 95 minutes and had to settle for a share of the spoils.

Themba Zwane scores a goal and saves a goal, Mamelodi Sundowns beat Al Hilal in Champions League opener

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Themba Zwane scores a goal and saves a goal, Mamelodi Sundowns beat Al Hilal in Champions League opener

Mamelodi Sundowns got their continental cup campaign off to a winning start, beating Sudan’s Al Hilal 1-0. Sundowns took on Al Hilal at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in the opening game of Group A of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Champions League.

In a game that Sports Brief monitored, Sudan's Al Hilal started the game more promising and looked like they would open the scoring first. That changed suddenly when Themba Zwane pounced on a mistake at the back to finish smartly past the keeper.

The goal came in the eight-minute against the run of play, but Sundowns slowly grew more into the game after taking the lead. Al Hilal started to get more aggressive after going behind, with Mohamed Abdelrahman at the centre of it.