Al Ahly head coach Pitso Mosimane has discussed his side’s preparations ahead of their second-leg clash against Raja Casablanca.
The Red Devils came out on top against Raja Casablanca with a 2-1 victory in the first leg of the CAF Champions League quarter-finals last week.
Amr El-Sulya opened the scoring from the spot after converting a controversial penalty before Hussein El-Shahat doubled Al Ahly’s lead minutes later as Raja Casablanca pulled one back just a minute before the break.
Raja Casablanca were put under more pressure in the second half when they went a man down around the hour mark as Marouane Hadhoudi blocked the ball off the line with his arm.
However, the Moroccan giants miraculously held on and maintained the scoreline, leaving Al Salam Stadium with only a one-goal deficit after 90 minutes.
It is now all to play for at the Mohammed V Stadium in the second leg and Pitso Mosimane is expecting a difficult encounter in Morocco.
“The Raja game will be tough because they have a lot of experience and history,” Mosimane said in the press conference ahead of the match.
“We had an important victory in the first leg, and we need to win again in order to qualify for the semi-finals.
“We have previously defeated Raja in the CAF Super Cup, and we beat them last week. We are preparing strongly for the second leg.
“I will only focus on the football being played, and I don’t care about refereeing controversies. I am certainly happy we have VAR.
“I hope that the technology will be used reliably and even be implemented in the group stages of the competition,” he added.
Mosimane also discussed the injuries within the squad and revealed they will be without defender Badr Benoun, who has been sidelined for over two months.
“We have many absences in the squad, especially Badr Benoun, who is a very influential player, but this is football and we must continue with the squad we have.”
Source: Kingfut
