CAIRO: Title holders Al Ahly achieved their target after holding Libyan side Ittihad to a goalless draw in the first-leg of the CAF Champions League semi-final on Sunday.
A win for Al Ahly at Cairo Stadium in two weeks time will be enough to lift the Red Devils through to the competition s final as they seek an unprecedented third successive title.
Manuel Jose stuck with the players he fielded in the team s 1-0 Cairo derby victory over Zamalek, with the only change being Ahmed Adel, who replaced injured right-back Islam Al-Shater.
Walid El Khatroushi almost put the hosts ahead after six minutes when he went clear on goal after latching onto a deft through pass.
Essam Al-Hadari rushed out but he only managed to get a hand to the ball before Ahmed Al-Sayed came to Al Ahly s rescue when he cleared the ball off the line.
In the 25th minute, Ittihad s Mahmud Makhlof collected a pass on the left and cut inside before hitting a low shot that went wide of the post.
Al Ahly could have stunned the home crowd in the 37th minute when a neat give-and-go between Flavio and Mohamed Abou-Treika released the latter but his shot from a tight angle was blocked by Ittihad keeper Samir Abboud.
Four minutes before the break, Ali Rahuma tried to side-foot a long ball inside the area but his shot was too weak to bother Egyptian international Al-Hadari.
In the second-half, clear-cut chances were few and far between.
Six minutes after restart, Ittihad s French-born Yoann Langlet raced down the left flank and crossed at the near post for Rahuma, whose effort narrowly missed the target.
Angolan striker Flavio wasted a golden opportunity to grab the lead for Al Ahly in the 79th minute.
A long ball slipped out of Abboud s grasp on the edge of the area and Flavio pounced, but his shot took a slight deflection off a defender and went out for a corner.
Abboud was at fault again in the resulting corner and Mohamed Barakat capitalized to fire a powerful shot from inside the area but it was blocked by a defender.
