Al Ahly and Pitso thirsty for revenge

Al Ahly and Pitso

thirsty for revenge

TWO TAB SOCCER 10 POOLS EACH GET A R250,000 BOOST

By Mark Gleeson

Pitso Mosimane will be seeking revenge and looking to remind everybody of his coaching capabilities tomorrow, when he returns to home soil with African Champions League holders Al Ahly for the clash with Mamelodi Sundowns.

The Cairo giants and their coach were handed a rare and humbling 1-0 home defeat by Sundowns in the Egyptian capital a fortnight ago, but will not take that loss lying down.

While the Egyptians are not expansive, nor particularly adventurous, when they play away from home, Mosimane might be toying with a more physical approach to unsettle the Brazilians and catch them on the counterattack.

It has the makings of a cracker encounter and is the headline match in tomorrow’s first Soccer 10 pool, which starts with a R250,000 TAB add-in and should total about R2 million!

Al Ahly have played 13 African club competition matches in South African and are yet to win. Their record in Mzansi reads five defeats and eight draws, starting way back in 1994 when they took on Cairo rivals Zamalek in the African Super Cup at Soccer City and lost to a late goal.

Sundowns can make sure they win Champions League Group A by beating the holders. They already enjoy a three-point advantage at the top of Group A and first place supposedly ensures an easier tie in the quarter-finals in April.

Tomorrow’s clash will be played at Soccer City. It has been moved from the Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace, where it had been scheduled after Loftus Herzfeld was ruled unfit to host Champions League group games.

Also in Champions League tomorrow, AmaZulu are away in Algeria for a tough game against Entente Setif, which is the last match in the cash-boosted Soccer 10 bet.

Benni McCarthy’s team will be hoping to come away with at least a point and if they do so, will then be well placed for a top-two finish in Group B and a berth in the last eight of the continent’s top club competition.

Setif are forced to travel some 200km from home for the match in the capital Algiers because their stadium is not up to scratch. They will still be fancied to win because AmaZulu have been struggling to score and there have been reports of a fall-out between coach and players.

Orlando Pirates are the other South African club in continental club competition this weekend and they host Royal Leopard on Sunday in the Confederation Cup.

Six goals in the “away” match against the Swazi police team a fortnight ago in Nelspruit suggests it could be another goal deluge at the Orlando Stadium in Soweto and Pirates are a banker to win in Sunday’s R250,000-added Soccer 10 pool.