29 Jul 2018

Township Rollers’ 2018 CAF Champions League journey seems to be headed to a cul de sac after the Blues suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Egyptian super club Al Ahly at the National Stadium on July 28.

Malian international defender Salif Coulibaly rose with a towering header in the 81st minute to hand Ahly the victory; Rollers succumbing to their third loss in a row in the competition.

After a good start to their Group A campaign with a 1-0 win over KCCA of Uganda in Gaborone last May, Rollers proceeded to two losses away to Esperance in Tunisia and Ahly in Egypt.

Unlike in those two previous outings where Popa was outplayed in North Africa, this time the Blues looked slightly the better side on a night of a heartbreak in Gaborone.

Popa was enterprising for periods of the night, but could not penetrate a well organised Ahly side that had good game management, staying compact for most of the match then, like a heavyweight champion, delivering a late killer blow.

Early in the contest, the two sides struggled to get into a rhythm, as a potentially explosive football contest became a game of jitters and tactical chess.

As the game wore on, Rollers were able to possess the ball in the middle of the park but going forward, they were forced into long-range shots that would not rattle Mohammed El Shanawi’s goal.

The normally efficient Lemponye ‘FC’ Tshireletso was anonymous in the first half of little chances.

The contest went into the halftime recess goalless and early in the second half, Rollers took the game to the Egyptians, who remained compact and well organised at the back.

With Ahly trying to hit Popa on the transition, Rollers’ central defensive pairing Ncenga and Motlhabankwe had to be alert and they indeed marshalled their back line well.

Edwin Moalosi missed a couple of half chances as Popa kept going forward while Tshireletso eventually got to force El Shanawi into a save.

Substitute Segolame Boy managed to get a pinpoint cross into the Al Ahly danger zone, locating Moalosi who  could not connect with his header, a gilt-edged chance gone begging.

With nine minutes to the end, the Egyptians got their winner when Coulibaly powered into the box to connect to an Al Ahly corner kick with a powerful header.

With two matches left in Group A, Esperance, who defeated KCCA 1-0 away in Kampala, have 10 points and have qualified for the quarterfinals.

Al Ahly now has seven points while Rollers and KCCA trail behind on three. In order to qualify in second place, Rollers and KCCA need maximum points in their last two matches while hoping Ahly lose both. ENDS