Pitso Mosimane makes history with Al Ahly after Caf Super Cup triumph

Pitso Mosimane has become the second coach to win three Caf Super Cups following Al Ahly’s triumph over Raja Casablanca on Wednesday evening at the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar.

In the process, the South African emulated legendary Portuguese coach Manuel Jose – who achieved the feat during his time with the Egyptian Premier League outfit.

The Red Devils survived a scare from the Moroccans to win the annual competition on penalties after the score stood at 1-1 after 90 minutes.

Caf Confederation Cup defending champions Raja took the lead after 13 minutes after Yasser Ibrahim El Hanafi turned the ball into his own net.

A counter-attack by Raja saw Abdelilah Madkour breakthrough on the right before taking a shot that beat Mohamed Elshenawy in the Ahly goal. El Hanafi’s attempt to cut away the shot only ended in deflecting it into the net.

The reigning Caf Champions League winners woke from their slumber as they attacked in numbers to level matters but their efforts met strong resistance by Marc Wilmots’ side.

Hussein El Shahat came close with a shot from 20 yards out but that attempt was parried away by goalkeeper Anas Zniti.

With the Stade Mohamed V Casablanca giants looking destined to win, super-sub Taher Mohamed scored a last-gasp effort after he was teed up by Percy Tau.

Zniti had just made a fine save to deny Mohamed Magdy, while Tau picked the rebound, set up Mohamed who struck home from close range.

And during the kicks from the penalty mark, Al Ahly won 6-5 on penalties after Abdelilah Madkour skied his kick.

Prior to the cracker staged in Qatar, coach Mosimane stated the Red Devils had no excuses to fail against Raja Casablanca.

“When we play in Qatar, we have the advantage of our fans’ support. I hope they come in numbers [on Wednesday] and believe in us as they did in the Fifa Club World Cup here,” Mosimane told the media, as per Caf website.

“I had nine key players away in the Fifa Arab Cup and they just joined the team. That’s why we did not prepare in the most suitable way, but there are no excuses. My players can deal with this situation.

“Nobody cares about the preparations; our supporters only want us to play and win whatever the circumstances are.

“We are a good team, and my players should be confident of that.

“When you are the coach of a team like Al Ahly you cannot complain of the pressure. We have to remain focused, humble and professional and do our best to win.

“We want to win the Super Cup for the second successive time. It is going to be a tough game as it was in the last edition.”