The first leg of the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League Final concluded with a goalless stalemate, after Espérance Sportive de Tunis were held to a 0-0 draw by defending champions, Al Ahly SC on Saturday evening.
The first of two legs took place in Rades, with four-time champions, Espérance hoping to take the advantage ahead of what is expected to be a tough return leg in Cairo next Saturday.
Despite enjoying the bulk of the possession, the hosts hardly created glaring chances, with the low sitting last line of defense by the reigning champions proving to be too hard to break.
Rodrigues Silver almost found the opener in the early opening minutes after a well taken cross by Houssem Tka connected with the striker’s header which went inches wide off goal.
The dangerous Al Shahat almost broke the hearts of the hosts before the break after his snapshot from range went inches wide off target to the relief of the young Amanallah Memmiche, who continues in his fine form.
The two sides went into the break with very few created chances and were determined to find the opener upon the start of the second stanza.
As expected, it was the hosts who asked questions yet again, this time coming very close with Roger Aholou testing Mostafa Shobeir from range with a well taken curler that went just over the bar.
With the backing of the crowd, the hosts continued surging forward but the resolute defense of the defending champions stood its ground.
The introduction of Ahly’s trusted talisman, Afsha sparked life into the Ahly attack, as they came close just after the hour mark after some good interplay concluded with a brilliant strike from range by Emam Abdelghany that almost caught Memmiche off guard.
With a draw in sight, the defending champions kept their discipline, as experienced players such as Percy Tau maintained possession to wind down the clock and frustrate the Tunisians to a goalless stalemate in front of their home fans.
With the score tied at 0-0, the second leg of the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League final in Cairo guarantees to be an action-packed affair, with both sides aiming to clutch their hands on Africa’s most prized club football possession.