Al-Ahly let guard down, draw with Sundowns 2-2

CAIRO (GoPharaohs.com) - Al-Ahly drew with their South African rivals Sundowns 2-2 in their first-leg match of the round of 16 in the African Champions League. Al-Ahly had a comfortable margin of 2 goals to nil and let their guard down late in the game to concede two goals and end the game in a 2-2 draw.

Al-Ahly star Mohamed Barakat, who is returning from injury, received the ball from a great pass by Mohamed Shawky scored the first goal in the 27th minute and end the first half at 0-1. Flavio added the second goal only 9 minutes into the second half to further widen the gap.

Towards the end of the game the sense of victory away from home overcame the Ahly players who consequently let their guard down. The substitutions near the end of the game also indicated that Al-Ahly was starting to wind-down. This, along with the increase in the pace of Sundowns’ offense allowed the South African hosts to score two goals in a ten minute window and give themselves hope to make a comeback in Cairo.