A last-gasp strike by Edward Williams led South Africa's Platinum Stars to a surprising 2-1 home victory over Ahli in the first-leg of the CAF Champions League round of 16. Koketso Mmotong put the hosts in front in the 57th minute but substitute Emad Meteb looked to have spared Ahli blushes when he struck home with eight minutes remaining. Williams notched a precious goal in stoppage time to hand Platinum Stars the initiative over five-time African champions Ahli. Ahli, who were recently crowned Egyptian champions for the fourth successive season, will need to win in Cairo on May 11th if they are to avoid any shocks. The visitors we far from impressive in the first half, despite welcoming back influential duo Mohamed Barakat and Amir Abdul-Hamid. Barakat started the game after recovering from an ankle injury. He played alongside Mohamed Abou-Treika to support lone striker Flavio Amado. First-choice keeper Abdul-Hamid stood between the sticks after shrugging off an injury. However, Ahli missed the presence of defender Emad Al-Nahhas and midfielder Ahmed Fathi after both players sustained serious injuries. Platinum Stars had the upper hand in the first half, squandering a couple of clear-cut opportunities to open the scoring. Abdul-Hamid misjudged a cross after 21 minutes to allow Lefa Mogaila shoot goalwards. Angolan winger Gilberto came to Ahli's rescue when he cleared the ball off the line. Ahli were repeatedly troubled by Platinum Stars' set-pieces, with Abdul-Hamid looking shaky in handling crosses from both flanks. Mmotong almost put Platinum Stars ahead just before the break when a right-wing cross evaded sweeper Shadi Mohamed to fell at his feet six yards from goal. But his poor effort went over the bar as he missed a golden chance to break the deadlock.
Deserved Lead Jose introduced striker Emad Meteb instead of Barakat in a bid to revive Ahli's attacking options. Things looked promising for Ahli in the early stages of the second-half after Meteb stepped onto the pitch. In the 54th minute, Meteb's back-heel pass found Abou-Treika on the edge of the area. The talented playmaker tried his luck but his effort narrowly missed the target. Mmotong fired Platinum Stars into the lead three minutes later after capitalizing on some sloppy defending from Ahli men. The 28-year-old forward outpaced Shadi to latch onto a deft pass and go clear on goal before coolly slotting into the bottom corner. Abou-Treika was unlucky not to level the score three minutes past the hour mark when his superb curling effort cannoned off the post. Not Enough Meteb's efforts paid off in the 82nd minute when he rose at the near post to head Gilberto's pinpoint cross into the far corner of the net. The Champions League runners-up looked to have avoided an embarrassing defeat. But Meteb's goal was not enough to prevent Ahli defenders from committing fatal errors. A double error allowed midfielder Williams to score the decisive strike and send the home fans into ecstasy. The below-par Shadi, while motionless, let Simba Marumo jumps over his head to flick into the path of the onrushing Williams. Williams overcame a poor challenge from Ahmed Al-Sayed to go one-on-one and poke past the hapless Abdul-Hamid.
