Nasser Mansi’s 90th-minute goal gives Zamalek victory over Rwandan Army

Nasser Mansi scored in the 90th minute to give Zamalek a 1-0 win over Rwandan Army in the first leg of the CAF Champions League round of 32.

The substitute finished low after a fine pass from Ahmed Abdel Rahim “Isho”, before receiving a yellow card for removing his shirt during the celebrations.

Zamalek reached this stage after beating Djibouti’s Port 6-1 on aggregate. They won the first leg 2-1 and the second 4-0, with both matches played in Cairo.

Rwandan Army advanced after a 3-1 aggregate victory over Congolese side Eagles. The second leg between Zamalek and Rwandan Army will be played at Cairo International Stadium on Saturday, 24 October.

Zamalek are appearing in the CAF Champions League for the first time in three seasons.

Match summary

Zamalek started with Mehdi Suleiman, Ahmed Fattouh, Mahmoud Hamdy “El Wensh”, Mostafa El Zanary, Omar Gaber, Mohamed Shehata, Ahmed Rabie, Abdullah El-Said, Oday Al-Dabbagh, Hossam Ashraf and Chico Banza.

Their substitutes were Mohamed Sobhi, Ahmed Hossam, Mohamed Farag, Mahmoud Gihad, Ahmed Abdel Rahim “Isho”, Mohamed Hamdy, Ahmed El-Gafaly, Nasser Mansi and Ahmed Sherif.

The opening stages were quiet before Zamalek created the first notable chance in the 10th minute. Chico Banza advanced on the left and found Hossam Ashraf in the penalty area, who crossed for Oday Al-Dabbagh. The striker delayed his shot and the defence intervened, conceding a corner.

Rwandan Army then tested Mehdi Suleiman, with Rauf Dao’s effort in the 27th minute requiring two saves. Gabriel Watara broke forward from the right six minutes later, but the Zamalek goalkeeper turned his shot behind. Watara tried again in the 39th minute, sending the ball over the crossbar.

Zamalek almost took the lead two minutes before half-time when Al-Dabbagh played Chico Banza through in the area. His attempt was blocked, as was Omar Gaber’s follow-up, and the ball went out for another corner.

Rwandan Army’s Faydali was booked for pushing Ahmed Fattouh in the 43rd minute, while Chico Banza was cautioned a minute later for pulling an opponent’s shirt. Suleiman made another strong save in the final minute of the half to ensure the score remained 0-0.

Tarraore Mamadou shot over in the 51st minute, while a 53rd-minute goal by Watara was ruled out for offside. Zamalek administrative director Abdullah Hussein was booked for protesting over a substitution, before El-Said and Ashraf were replaced by Isho and Mahmoud Gihad.

Nasser Mansi and Ahmed Sherif came on for Al-Dabbagh and Banza in the 69th minute. Gihad was booked for a foul in the 79th minute, while William Togui missed Rwandan Army’s clearest chance by shooting over from six yards.

A Zamalek goal was disallowed in the 88th minute after Mahmoud El Wensh was offside from Fattouh’s free-kick, with Ahmed Sherif putting the rebound into the net. Mansi then settled the match two minutes later.