Al Ahly coach Marcell Koller has made an honest admission about his side’s first disallowed goal against Mamelodi Sundowns in the CAF Champions League semi-final first leg clash on Saturday, stating that it was correctly ruled out.

Masandawana couldn’t use their home ground advantage to great effect as the match ended in a goalless stalemate, setting up a nervy return leg in Cairo next week on 25 April. However, the Egyptians had two goals chalked off for offside.

Slovenian footballer Nejc Gradisar thought he had given the reigning champions a crucial away goal in the 69th minute, but his celebrations were instantly cut short, sparking a livid reaction from the visiting bench before Achraf Bencharki’s stoppage-time goal was also ruled out.

On the first goal, the 64-year-old mentor says Gradisar’s strike was rightly overturned, explaining that he felt the referee should have gone to check on the VAR monitor whether the 22-year-old was indeed in an offside position – hence the reaction in the technical area.

“I was already happy that we scored that goal, and it was correct to [rule the goal out], the referee did well not to give the goal,” said Koller, who guided Al Ahly to two consecutive CAF Champions League titles since joining the club in September 2022.

“My reaction was because I wanted the referee to go and have a look at it again to check if it’s really offside or not with the [VAR] lines. And if they check, they have the right chance to make the correct decision.”

While the 12-time African champions didn’t walk away with a win, it’s the first time they avoided defeat against the Brazilians on South African soil under Koller – a feat the Red Devils tactician attributes to the experience of facing Sundowns on numerous occasions during his tenure.

“We have more experience; we analyzed the Sundowns team very well, and we discussed everything. We told the team which part is their strongest and which part is not, and we told the team which part will be necessary to do to not concede to have a good result in this game, and the team achieved this,” he added.

However, the Swiss tactician cautioned that the job is not yet done, acknowledging that it’s only half time in the tie with all to play for in the deciding match. The well-traveled coach says they aim to score two goals in their backyard.

“We know that we didn’t score a goal. When we go to Cairo, we have to score two goals, we know that. At the beginning, I said it’s only the first half time that’s over, we have another half time once again, and we should have 100% concentration in Cairo in the second game,” Koller continued.

Al Ahly have won three of their last five meetings against Sundowns in Africa’s premium club competition in Cairo, with the Tshwane giants winning once in February 2022, while the other match ended in a 2-2 draw in February 2023.