Ahly to Champions League quarter-final after beating CotonSports 3-1

A double from under-fire striker Amr Gamal sent Ahly to the African Champions League quarter-final following a 3-1 comeback victory over Cameroon’s Cotonsport in Alexandria on Saturday.

Needing a win to book a last-eight berth, Ahly dominated the early exchanges but surprisingly fell behind when Cotonsport’s Jean-Joseph Kombous struck on the break after 12 minutes to silence around 20,000 fans who were allowed to attend the match at Borg El-Arab Stadium in Egypt’s second biggest city.

But Gamal, who is often criticised by the Ahly faithful, soon restored parity with his first Champions League goal in more than a year and veteran playmaker Abdallah El-Said put them ahead after a flowing move in the first half.

Gamal headed home early in the second half to make sure of the victory as record eight-time winners Ahly continue their bid towards their first Champions League title since 2013, with Cotonsport waving goodbye to the competition with six defeats from six matches.

The Red Devils finished second in Group D with 11 points, on level with Zambia’s Zanaco but with a better goal difference as both sides are tied in the head-to-head record.

Morocco’s Wydad qualified for the quarter-final as the group winners with 12 points after defeating Zanaco 1-0 at home.

Watch the goals here:

https://youtu.be/qQq2ROaF9qs

Ahly onslaught