Ahly have joined arch-rivals Zamalek in the African Confederation Cup semis after Tunisia's Etoile du Sahel and Malian side Stade Malien played out a 1-1 draw in Bamako on Sunday.

With only one match left in the competition's group stage, four teams have already booked a berth in the semi-final - with current Group B leaders Orlando Pirates and Group A's second-placed side Etoile joining the Egyptian representatives.

Ahly, who beat Esperance 1-0 away from home on Saturday, needed Etoile to secure either a draw or a win at Stade Malien to march through without waiting for the final group match.

And the Reds looked closed to guaranteeing a place in the semis when Etoile opened the scoring in the 60^th minute through midfielder Khalil Bangoura.

Stade Malien's last-gasp equalizer proved of little use, with the home draw condemning them to a group-stage exit, as the Tunisians amassed their 10^th point to become level with second-placed Ahly

The draw meant that the Malians froze on five, thus losing any hope of bridging the gap with Ahly with only one match remaining.   

Zamalek, who visit Tunisia's Sfaxien later in the day, have similarly secured a slot in the last-four following South Africa's Orlando Pirates 1-0 win over Congo's Leopards.

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