Late Ebuka strike puts Al Masry in comfortable lead over Simba

Al Masry put up a strong performance at home to edge Simba in Suez during a high-paced TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup Quarter-Final first leg clash on Wednesday evening.

Following a frantic start with both sides looking for an early lead, the hosts eventually settle into the match and took control of proceedings.

With a more controlled approach to the tie, Abderrahim Deghmoum found the opener in the 16^th minute to give Al Masry the much-needed goal to settle the nerves.

Simba would not let go of the belief of a comeback, as they continued sending numbers forward, but a disciplined and resolute Al Masry defense kept the Tanzanian giants at bay.

Coming back into the second half, both sides continued from where they left off with a high-octane pace to the clash.

While both sides enjoying a fair amount of possession, none could break each other’s last line of defense, with both sides lacking that final defense splitting pass.

It was however in the dying minutes of the tie that Nigerian forward, John Ebuka sealed an emphatic and hard-fought victory for the Egyptians in the 89^th minute as he fired home a goal that gave his side a confidence boosting two-goal cushion ahead of the return leg next week.