CAF CL: Al Ahly Banking on Fans to Down Horoya

Al Ahly coach Patrice Carteron has urged club supporters to turn up in numbers to support the team when it takes on Horoya AC in the second-leg of the quarter-final of the Total CAF Champions League match on Saturday at El Saalam Stadium.

The Red Devils were held to 0-0 draw by the Guinean giants in the first-leg match played in Conakry on Friday and will be looking for a win to book their place in the semi-finals of the competition.

Speaking ahead of the match, Carteron has called on the club supporters to show up in numbers.

Rallying call

“We need you in the second leg to qualify for the next round. CAF Champions League games are decided depending on the support of the fans and not technical aspects,” he said.

Al Ahly is one of the clubs with a large fan base in Egypt and Carteron is delighted with the passion among the Red Devils fans and wants them to keep up the spirit on Saturday.

The Frenchman, who was appointed as Red Devils coach last June, also talked about his team’s performance in the first leg, in which the side failed to utilize open chances.

“We didn’t take advantage of all the opportunities we had. A draw is an acceptable result but I was hoping for a better result,” Carteron told Egyptian sports tabloid KingFut.

“The game could’ve been different if we took advantage of our opportunities. I don’t recall any opportunities for Horoya. The pitch was really bad and we’ll start preparing for the second leg from now. We’ll try to take advantage of the opportunities we get,” he added.

Al Ahly are hoping to win the Champions League title for the ninth time this year having clinched it a record eight times.

The winner of the Saturday’s tie will advance to the semi-finals for a clash against either title holders Wydad or Algeria’s ES Setif.