كتب : Omar AbdelAziz
The veteran midfielder, who has just returned from injury, was unfit to make the starting line-up, but was introduced before the break to make the difference.
Ahli already missed a number of big names and to add to their woes, Sayed Moawad twisted his ankle in the warm up and was accordingly relegated to the bench, making way for youngster Ayman Ashraf.
Slow start…Barakat introduction
Jose was forced to deploy the defense-minded Moataz Eno as a playmaker behind strikers Osama Hosni and Geddo.
Ahli expectedly controlled possession in the first half but with no real threat on Jacob Banda’s goal, suggesting that the creativity of Barakat is essential in the final third.
Five minutes before half time, Jose decided to play his wild card and introduce Barakat for the ineffectual Eno.
It was obvious that the diminutive number 8 was the key man Ahli needed to break ZESCO’s resilience as he came close to scoring the opener six minutes after the break.
Fireworks….and goal
Shortly after the break, the referee was forced to halt play for around seven minutes after Ahli fans torched the stands with fireworks, resulting in the fainting of ZESCO’S Billy Mwanza, who was eventually substituted.
As soon as the match was resumed, ZESCO almost silenced the euphoric home fans when Ahmed Adel parried away a fine effort from substitute Stephen Kabamba.
The red alert was followed by a moment of controversy from Ugandan referee Ali Kalyango, who rejected Ahli’s penalty appeal after Barakat was clearly shoved by Mathews Chickwete.
But the veteran midfielder got his reward in the 67th minute when he applied a brilliant one-two with Wael Gomaa, penetrated the ZESCO defense smoothly and fired in a well-placed shot past the hapless Banda for the winner.
ZESCO looked anything but crumbling as they knew that an away goal would send them through, but Jose brought on Moawad for striker Hosni to maintain balance at the back.
The six-time champs held on to their one-goal lead which could have well been doubled when substitute Dominique da Silva saw his effort unluckily bouncing off the post near the end, with the ZESCO keeper stranded.