CAF Champions League
Al Hilal revenge against Al Merreikh in Khartoum
Al Hilal have defeated arch-rivals Al Merreikh 1-0 in a Group A match of the 2020/2021 TotalEnergies CAF Champions League played in Khartoum on Friday.
Substitute Yasir Mozamil Mohamed netted the lone goal after 84 minutes at the Al Hilal Stadium in Omdurman.
He captalised on a well taken corner kick that the Al Merreikh defenders failed to clear out of danger before he shot past goalkeeper Mohamed Mustafa Mohamed.
Al Hilal held on to win 1-0 against an Al Merreikh team that had Emad Eldeen Salah Ali sent off after 53 minutes.
The two teams had each created some scoring opportunities earlier in the first half, but failed to score.
In the second half Al Hilal took control of the game after Al Merreikh were reduced by one player. Al Merreikh had team members cautioned, while Al Hilal had four booked. It was a revenge for Al Hilal who lost by the same margin when the two teams faced off in Cairo late last month.
Daniel Gimenez Alcaniz, the Al Hilal head coach said that he was happy his players battled to pick their first maximum points. “We need to continue working hard ahead of two more matches in the group stage,” added the coach.
Al Hilal now move to 3rd place behind reigning champions Al Ahly who also have 4 points. South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns lead the Group with 7 points.