A first half goal from Mohamed Sherif handed Ahly a 1-0 victory over Tanzanian giants Simba at El Salam Stadium in Cairo on Friday as both sides qualify to the Champions League quarter finals. After losing 1-0 to Simba in Tanzania in the away game, the defending champions handed their visitors their first group stage defeat. Ahly will now progress to knock out stage with 11 points, two behind leaders Simba. Congolese side AS Vita club finish third with 7 points despite their 3-1 home victory against Al-Merrikh of Soudan. Coach Pitso Mosimane had to make a few chances to his backline fielding Ahmed "Beckham" Ramadan and Rami Rabia for right back Mohamed Hani and central defender Yasser Ibrahim. Ahly created an early threat when Mohamed Sherif raced clear onto a long ball from Aliou Dieng but his effort went just over the bar. Sherif was again guilty of squandering another easy chance when he was found unmarked by an excellent cross from Beckham but his header missed the goal. The Red Devils kept on pressing and had several chances to go up but attempts from Beckham and Dieng lacked precision. In the 32nd minute, Sherif made amends for his previous misses when he connected with a precise cross from Mohamed "Afsha" Magdi to give his team a well-deserved lead. Ahly kept on controlling the tempo after the break but lacked sharpness in the final third. Afsha blasted a powerful shot wide while Amr El Sulaya long ranger went over the bar. The visitors went up the pitch in an attempt to grab the equalizer and Ahly suffered a late scare when Mugalu picked a rebound in the area but his shot crashed off the bar.
