Al Ahly books a slot in final showdown of 2011 Men’s African Club Championship
The 2011 Men’s African Club Championship is in full swing in Cairo, Egypt. Since the start of this competition on April 28, there have been some scintillating performances by the African volleyball clubs.
A total of 16 teams were on board to show their thirst for victory. After successfully covering the early stages, the tournament has now entered in the final phase. The top two teams have been confirmed for the final match, which is scheduled to be played
this Saturday, May 7. In the semi-finals, defending champions Al-Ahly of Egypt and Kenya Prisons defeated El Guish and National University of Rwanda, respectively. The semi-finals were played on Wednesday, May 4 in Cairo, Egypt.
The all-Egyptian semi-final match attracted a lot of spectators to the sports arena. Al-Ahly was strongly tagged as a powerful side in the competition. They have been the most successful team over the past many years. They have captured nine titles so far.
On the other hand, El Guish was comparatively a ‘better than average’ team. Nonetheless, they had the ambition to give a hard time to their competitors.
El Guish squad opened the match on a good note. They produced powerful serves and manage to put the early points on board. On the other hand, Al Ahly side started off with relaxed action. They analysed the positions of El Guish players and set their targets.
El Guish picked up a lead 8-6 at the first technical timeout and continued with the same passion afterwards. They maintained their lead up till the next technical break.
As the game resumed after second technical timeout, Ah Ahly came strong on El Guish and hit them from different angles. Good combination of attacks and blocks allowed them to tie the game score at 16-all. It was the actual turning moment of the game.
Ah Ahly followed the same approach and remained on the winning route. In the crucial time, the setter Alexander proved to be a huge support of Al Ahly team. He floated the ball with perfect timing and created superb opportunities for spikers to score points.
Nonetheless, El Guish hit back strongly and levelled the score at 20-all. Finally, Ah Ahly earned better status and sealed first-set win by posting 25-23.
After a great start in opening set, El Guish had to face embarrassment in the end. Anyhow, the mentor of El Guish Foad Abdel Slam called in better substitutions in the second set. Nigerian centre Emmanuel Jatto and wing-spiker Mahmoud El Komy were the new
players on El Guish side.
The second set started out with swift shots by El Guish. Al Ahly trailed behind with a gap of two points at the first technical timeout (3-5). Then the score soared up with close difference of points.
Ah Ahly’s Mahmoud Raouf and Latif Osman put up a valiant effort and scored consecutive points. Al Ahly went up and caught opponents from the scruff of their neck. El Guish struggled to chase the score but could not catch up with Al Ahly’s speed. The second
set also ended in defending champions’ favour, while El Guish suffered 13-25 defeat.
Al Ahly was in control of the operations in the third set. They already had attained the perfect tone to claim the match victory.
As the game entered in 64th minute, Al Ahly hit the mark and closed off third set by sending 25-19 on the board. Al Ahly successfully covered the semi-final stage and now they will be featured in the final match on Saturday.
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