By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Al Masry secured a hard fought 2-1 victory over Kaizer Chiefs in their CAF Confederation Cup Group D opener at the Suez Stadium in Suez, Egypt, on Sunday evening.
Chiefs were under siege in the opening stages, with goalkeeper Brandon Petersen being forced to make two saves to deny the Green Eagles and Bradley Cross bravely making a crucial block inside the box in the opening 20 minutes of the encounter.
However, Chiefs grew gradually into the match and they started delivering crosses into the opposition’s box for Etiosa Ighodaro to attack. The Nigerian centre forward connected with a cross from the right, but his header was well saved by goalkeeper Mahmoud Hamdy in stoppage time and the score was 0-0 at halftime.
The Green Eagles exerted pressure on Chiefs after the restart and the hosts were awarded a penalty after Petersen had conceded a foul in the box. Bonheur Mugisha stepped up and the Rwanda international made no mistake as he fired past Petersen to hand Al Masry a 1-0 lead in the 59th minute.
The goal did not deter Chiefs as they searched forward in numbers and they levelled matters through Dillan Solomons, who netted in the 66th minute to make it 1-1 after a brilliant solo run. Substitutes Mfundo Vilakazi and Asanele Velebayi then saw their attempts by Hamdy as Amakhosi searched for a late winner.
It was heartbreaking for the South African giants when they conceded in the 87th minute after failing to clear a corner-kick. Mohamed Hashem pounced and fired home from close range to seal Masry’s 2-1 victory over Chiefs on the night.