A header from Ahmed Shokri and a penalty from Mohamed Samir secured the victory on the night as the Egyptian champions won the tie 2-1 on aggregate.

Hossam Al-Badri once again kept 'depleted' veteran Ahmed Hassan on the bench, starting with the fit-again Mohamed Abou-Treika.

Samir was given the nod at the heart of defense as Ahmed Al-Sayed missed out through injury while Sherif Abdul-Fadil was not fit to start.

Two penalties, two goals

Ahli piled on the pressure from early on as their visitors appeared to be applying an ultra-defensive strategy.

After 14 minutes, Emad Meteb was brought down inside the area and Moroccan referee Radwan Jayed didn’t hesitate to point to the spot.

Uncommonly, Abou-Treika converted a poor penalty that was easily saved by goalkeeper Tafadzwa Dube.

Two minutes later, Treika hit the post from point-blank range in what could stand as a terrible miss rather than a misfortune, given the standards of the Egypt talisman.

Ahli got their goal in the 21st minute when Mohamed Barakat's inviting freekick was met by Shokri, who headed in his first-ever continental goal.

Shortly after, Barakat sent another superb cross for Meteb, who couldn’t apply the finish as he missed the ball on the header.

Gunners' first sight of goal came after 24 minutes when the competition's top scorer Norman Maroto saw his close-range effort brilliantly blocked by Ahmed Adel.

Before the break, the active Meteb won another penalty after being shoved by goalkeeper Dube, who had no complains about the decision.

This time Samir made no mistake from the spot, even though Dube almost saved the unremarkable penalty.

Poor Reds

The second half started as the first one ended, with Ahli looking to extend their lead but the Gunners keeper made a number of fine saves to deny Meteb(twice) and Shokri.

Hassan replaced the misfiring Abou-Treika as Gunners made a couple of substitutions in an attempt to score a shock away goal.

The Zimbabwean champions almost silenced the spectators at Cairo Stadium when Willard Katsande rifled a long-range effort that was parried by Adel.

Seconds later, Meteb was guilty of missing a sitter after being sent through on goal by Hassan, but the Egypt striker's sloppy chip went above Dube's bar.

As the game was close to an end, television replays caught Ahli manager Al-Badri in a confrontation with his Gunners counterpart Wellington Mpandare on the touchline.