The captain of Pitso Mosimane’s Al Ahly troops Mohamed El Shenawy knows walking into the Stade Mohamed V in Casablanca on Friday night [22h00] will not be a stroll in the park.
Their opponents Raja Casablanca have a massive following at home. They go into the return leg of the Caf Champions League quarterfinal with a glimmer of hope after a narrow 2-1 loss away in Egypt.
Raja played the final 30 minutes of that game without veteran centre-back Marouane Hadhoudi after he was given marching orders in the 59th minute.
The Green Eagles will probably read much into the fact that Ahly were unable to breach their defence when they were one man down and without the experience of the Moroccan international.
But if El Shenawy’s pre-match remarks are anything to go by, Raja will have to be wary of the visitors.
The Pharaohs’ goalkeeper has vowed that the 10-time African champions have the mettle to perform well under enormous pressure. They have won it against the odds in the last two editions and are eager to get the third successive one to seal their dominance on the continent.
“We’ve been preparing well for the game, and we hope to be in our best performance to qualify for the next round,” El Shenawy said.
“Moreover, we’ve been talking to each other in the build-up to the game about the importance of this match. I believe we can achieve our goal from tomorrow’s game even though we expect it to be a tough one against a big team like Raja.”
The veteran goalie said they were not fazed by playing in front of a sea of green and white as they were cut out for such games.
“Finally, we came early to Morroco to adapt to the conditions here and feel the game’s atmosphere. We are not afraid of playing tomorrow’s game in front of Raja fans; we like to play in such an atmosphere. We are experienced players and enjoy playing in such conditions.”
Mosimane, who is on course to make history if he picks the prestigious trophy for the third time running, said they expect the game to be challenging. He knows they face a side with an experienced team and a great history in continental football.
“We were able to defeat Raja in the Caf Super Cup and the first leg of the Caf Champions League quarter-finals. We will be looking forward to defeating them and qualifying for the next round [semifinal],” he said.
“Of course, we will be competing against them on the pitch, but that doesn’t affect the strong relationship between both teams off the pitch.”
Mosimane will have to do without centre-back Badr Benoun, but the former Mamelodi Sundowns coach is confident they have everything it takes to emerge victoriously.
