Koka takes Ahly closer to CAF Champions League semis

Ahmed Koka, who joined Al Ahly at seven years old, scored to give the Egyptian club a 1-0 win at Simba of Tanzania on Friday in a CAF Champions League quarterfinal first leg.

The 22-year-old midfielder struck his first goal of the African campaign only four minutes before a 60 000 crowd in the Indian Ocean city of Dar es Salaam.

A superb pass from Amr el Solia set up Mohamed Hany to cross and a mix-up in the Simba defence allowed Koko to fire past Moroccan goalkeeper Ayoub Lakred.

Simba had chances, but some brilliant goalkeeping by Mostafa Shobeir, wild shooting and a lack of goalmouth sharpness cost the hosts.

Shobeir, son of former Egypt and Ahly shot-stopper Ahmed Shobeir, is proving a capable deputy for captain Mohamed el Shenawy, who was injured at the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations.

The clubs meet again next Friday in Cairo with Ahly strongly-placed to emerge aggregate winners and face Petro Luanda of Angola or TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of Congo in the semifinals.

On Saturday, Mazembe meet Petro, Young Africans of Tanzania play Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa and Esperance of Tunisia face ASEC Mimosas of Ivory Coast in other first legs.

Ahly have won the Champions League a record 11 times while Mazembe have been champions five times, Esperance on four occasions, and ASEC and Sundowns once each.

This is the fourth quarterfinal appearance by Simba since the competition underwent a format change in 1997, and a fourth exit at the last-eight stage is looming.

For the first time in the Champions League, only two qualifiers for the knockout stage, Ahly and Esperance, come from the powerful north African region. The previous low was four