Goal king Geddo lifts Ahly into final

21 October 2012 21:47

Mohamed 'Geddo' Nagy confirmed his recent return to scoring form with the winner Sunday as Al Ahly of Egypt beat Sunshine Stars of Nigeria 1-0 in Cairo to reach the CAF Champions League final.

A deflected shot past goalkeeper Moses Ocheje after 28 minutes at the empty June 30 stadium settled the second leg of the semi-final after a 3-3 draw in Nigeria two weeks ago.

Record six-time African champions Ahly advanced 4-3 overall and face bitter rivals Esperance of Tunisia over two legs during November, with the Egyptians having home advantage first.

Geddo, who became the five-goal star of the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations after entering the tournament as an unknown, had scored only once in the CAF Champions League this season before the semi-finals.

But a first-leg brace followed by the second-leg winner lifts him to four goals, two less than leading Ahly scorer Mohamed Aboutrika, who is serving a two-month club suspension for refusing to play in a recent domestic fixture.

Geddo could have finished the return match with four goals as the woodwork denied him twice in the opening half and once after the break while Sunshine substitute Harrison Egbune rattled the crossbar in the latter stages.

Ahly controlled most of a match that rarely rose above the ordinary and was played behind closed doors with Egyptian authorities refusing to allow spectators amid post-Arab spring security fears.

Competing in the Champions League for the first time this season, Sunshine seemed overawed apart from a brief second-half spell when Tamen Medrano, Dele Olorundare and Egbune threatened goalkeeper Sherif Ekrami.

Source: AFP