Al Masry secure convincing win over Al Hilal

Al Masry player Mustafa Mohamed (R) in action against Al-Hilal player Al Sadig Adam (L)

Wednesday Aug 29, 2018. 23:16

Al Masry overcame Al Hilal 2-0 in their final 2018 CAF Confederation Cup Group B match at the Al-Masry Club Stadium in Egypt on Wednesday night.

As a result, Egypt's Al Masry settled for second place finish in Group B and they booked their place in the quarterfinals, while Sudanese side Al Hilal finished fourth on the standings.

The Boss of the Canal came into the match having already booked their place in the knockout stages of the tournament.

Al Masry knew that they had to defeat Al Hilal and hope that Moroccan side RS Berkane fails to win against Mozambican side UD Songo in order to win the group.

Al Hilal went into the game having already been eliminated from the competition after recording two defeats and three draws.

They were hoping to end their group stage campaign with a victory over Al Masry in Egypt.

However, the Blue Wave conceded 20 minutes into the game and it was Mohamed Grendo who opened the scoring.

The 27-year-old striker beat Younis El-Tayeb to make it 1-0 to Al Masry with Ahmed Shokri grabbing an assist.

The visitors tried to level matters before the half-time break, with Tanzanian striker Thomas Ulimwengu leading their attack.

However, Al Masry were able to hold on to their lead and they were 1-0 up during the half-time break.

Al Hilal coach Lamine Ndiaye decided to make a change 11 minutes after the restart. Mohamed Bashir replaced Al Sadig Abakar as the Blue Wave looked to level matters in the second-half.

However, the hosts doubled their lead seven minutes after the hour-mark through Mostafa Ali. The left-back beat El-Tayeb to make it 2-0 to Al Masry much to the delight of the home crowd.

Hossam Hassan, the Al Masry coach, introduced defender Karim El Eraki with nine minutes left as the hosts looked to contain Al Hilal.

Al Masry were able to hold on to their two-goal lead in the dying minutes of the game and they emerged 2-0 winners on the day.

Al Masry (1) 2 (Grendo 20', Ali 67')
Al Hilal 0

Masry: Boska, Koffi, Abdel Mawgod, Ali (67'), Shokri (Jebrin 90'), Moussa, Shawki, Shatta, Wadi (Gaber 59'), Grendo, Issa (El Eraki 81').

Al Hilal: El-Tayeb, Aagla, Mahmoud, Izzeldin (Maranhão 73'), Musa, Mudawi, Abdalla, Osman, El-Tahir, Ulimwengu (Eldin Ali 61'), Abakar (Bashir 56').