Full-time: Ahly 1-1 Wydad The ref blows the final whistle! It's Ahly:one, Wydad: one. 90+4 A strike by Meteb from the edge of the box evades the post by inches!! 90+3 Wydad keeper Laaroubi cautioned by the ref for time-wasting. 88' Immense pressure from Ahly in the dying minutes of the first leg. 85' Walid Soliman, who came on as a substitute, is now forced off due to injury as veteran striker Emad Meteb comes on. 82' Nicaise replaces El-Haddad.. 78' Winger Ahmed Hamoudi replaces Rami Rabia, as Ahly manager El-Badry looks to increase his attack. 74' Ahly still controlling... 69' A free-kick for Ahly as they continue to pile up pressure... 66' A rare counter-attack by the Moroccans sees Bencharki strike straight into Ekramy's hands! 63' Wydad's Saidi handed a yellow card by the ref for the game's first booking. 63' Walid Soliman replaces Ajayi for Ahly's first change of the game... 58' Azaro has a penalty appeal curiously turned down by the ref! 56' A great ball control by Ajayi before feeding Zakareya who has been ruled by the ref to have been offside! 54' Ahly missed two goal-scoring opportunities in quick succession, with both Ajayi and El-Said unable to find the net!! 50' The visitors look much better both with and without the ball after the break... 47' Wydad now clearly retreating, leaving Ahly's backline free on hte ball.. The second half begins... 45+3 The referee blows the half-time whistle. 43' A cross from Ahmed Fathi sees an unmarked Ajayi head high over! 39' Ahly struggling to break down a retreating Wydad side, with the home side looking a bit nervous 32' Ahly striker Azaro appealing for a foul, but the ref doesn't seem impressed 29' A fine team-move ends up with Azaro being ruled offside by the ref. 27' Wydad star Ounajem replaced by Abdeladim Khadrouf apparently due to injury. 23' The tempo of the game slowed down during those minutes... 17' Bencharki equalizes for Wydad with a glancing header from close range that beats keeper Ekramy following a cross from Ounajem! 17' GOAL! Wydad equalize! 14' Ajayi strikes from outside the area but his effort goes wide... 12' A tough tackle from midfielder Rabia on El-Haddad... 9' Free-kick for the visitors following a foul from Naguib on Bencharki 7' WHAT A CHANCE!! Walid Azaro goes through on goal, but sees his eventual effort bounce off the bar! 6' Despite taking the lead, Ahly are on the attack now... 3' A terrific left-footed strike from Zakareya from outside the area following Abdallah El-Said's layoff! An incredible volley!!! 2' GOOOOAAAALLL!!!!! Zakareya gives Ahly the lead!!! The match gets underway! 18:55 Players are in the tunnel now as they prepare to step onto the pitch... 18:40 Both teams are currently warming up... 18:30 Rami Rabia continues in midfield alongside El-Sulaya, after the former played well in the win over Etoile. 18:15 Ahly manager El-Badry fields an unchanged lineup from the recent win over Etoile du Sahel, with the introduction of Ahmed Fathi the only exception. Starting lineups: Ahly: Sherif Ekramy, Ali Maaloul, Mohamed Naguib, Saad Samir, Ahmed Fathi, Rami Rabia, Amr El-Sulaya, Moemen Zakareya, Abdallah El-Said, Junior Ajayi, Walid Azaro Wydad: Z. Laaroubi, Y. Rabeh, M. Ouattara, A. Noussir, S. Saidi, W. El Karti, B. Nakach, B. Gaddarine, A. Bencharki, M. Ounajem, I. El Haddad 17:30 The stadium is now packed with the Ahly faithful, who are wishing for a victory that would pave their way for the ninth title tonight. 17:00 Amr El-Sulaya is a sure-fire starter in midfield, but whether El-Badry will play natural center-back Rami Rabia or new-signing Hesham Mohamed alongside the ex-Ismaily man remains to be seen. 16:30 With the absence of key midfielder Hossam Ashour continuing, it remains to be seen whom manager Hossam El-Badry will deploy in the middle of the park. 15:55 Ahly and Wydad met twice in the group stage, with each winning their home clash by the same 2-0 scoreline. 15:45 Wydad playmaker Mohammad Ounnajem reiterated his teammate's statements, while stressing that they will be focusing upon avoiding a repeat of their 4-0 semi-final first-leg defeat by Ahly arch-rivals Zamalek at the same stage last season. "We will focus on avoiding a repeat of what happened last year against Zamalek. We will do our best to get a positive result in Alexandria and not leak any goals," Ounnajem told a Moroccan television channel. "In the second leg, we will have the advantage of playing before our hugely supportive fans." 15:15 “We are normally preparing for the game like any other game,” Noussir, 24, said. “We know the game would be difficult as everyone knows Ahly's strength. We'll be looking to come up with minimum losses ahead of the return leg.” 14:45 However, Wydad – who overcame Algeria's USM Algiers with an aggregate 3-1 win in the semis – say they are unfazed by Ahly's comprehensive victory over Etoile, with defender Abdellatif Noussir stating that they are preparing ‘normally'for the crunch tie. 14:15 "To be frank, my target was to score knowing that only 1-0 would qualify me for the final," El-Badry, who led Ahly to their 2012 Champions League title, told BeIN Sports right after the game. "We were lucky today; we had the desire to win which was reflected on the performance and the result." 13:50 Flocks of Ahly fans arrive in Alexandria's Borg El-Arab stadium to support the Reds in the anticipated final 13:45 Talking about Ahly's thumping victory over Etoile, manager Hossam El-Badry was clear to say that his side were lucky in the game - which he entered focusing primarily upon not conceding even if his team were to score just a single goal. 13:00 Following an emphatic 6-2 victory in the semi-final return-leg over Etoile, who emerged 2-1 winners in the first leg in Sousse, Ahly will be going into the final eyeing a record ninth title in high spirits. 12:15 The Red Devils could not take a first-leg advantage in the quarter and semi finals but stormed back on both occasions to eliminate Tunisia's popular clubs Esperance and Etoile du Sahel respectively. 11:45 A buoyant Ahly side will be looking for a first-leg advantage this time around as they host Morocco's Wydad Casablanca in Alexandria on Saturday with an eye on a record-extending ninth African Champions League title. Venue: Borg El Arab, Alexandria Referee: Bamlak Tessema Weyesa (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)
