by AHMED MOOLA
CAIRO – PYRAMIDS have won the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Champions League in the most historic achievement in the Egyptian side’s 17-year history.
In a match that had some (video assistant referee (VAR) drama, they defeated South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns 2-1 on Sunday evening at the 30 June Stadium in Cairo on Sunday evening.
On aggregate, they clinched the tournament 3-2 after the two sides finished one-all in the first leg in Pretoria, South Africa last weekend.
Pyramid’s Fiston Mayele opened the scoring in Cairo in the 23rd minute after profiting from a blunder by defender Grant Kekana inside the box.
Ahmed Samy doubled the hosts’ advantage in the 55th minute with a diving header.
Iqraam Rayners halved the deficit on the evening in the 75th minute to set up a nervy finish but Pyramids held on for a famous win.
Formed in 2008 as Al Assiouty Sport in Beni Suef, the club was bought and moved to Cairo by Turki Al-Sheikh in 2018.
Krunoslav “Kruno” Jurčić, the Croatian coach, manages the side.
Pyramids’ winning the Champions League underlines Egyptian clubs’ dominance of Africa’s biggest club football competition.
Al Ahly, Zamalek and Ismaily are the previous winners from the North African country.
– CAJ News
