Ahly coach Martin Jol refuses to throw in the towel after Wydad draw

Mahmoud Elassal , Sunday 17 Jul 2016

Ahly's Champions League hopes are all but in tatters after a goalless draw with Wydad in the third round of the group stage

Martin Jol
Martin Jol, coach of Egypt's Al Ahly (Reuters)

Despite tailing Group A of the CAF Champions League with only one point after a goalless draw with Morocco's Wydad, Ahly's Dutch coach, Martin Jol, stated he won't resign from his post as he still hopes on reaching the tournament semifinals.

"I won't leave Ahly. I refuse this as we are still competing in the Egypt Cup, Super Cup and CAF Champions League," Jol told the post-game press conference.

Ahly's Champions League hopes look effectively over after they failed to grab their first Group A victory, with a resolute Wydad Casablanca side retaining their position on top after holding the Egyptian champions to a 0-0 draw in Alexandria Saturday.

"I don't lose hope in the CAF Champions League," he added.

"We are working now to avoid previous mistakes and to return to winning ways," he said.

Ahly were unlucky when a goal by Walid Soliman was wrongfully disallowed for being offside in the second half with Wydad, but they could have few complaints after another uninspiring display, less than a month after they won the Egyptian Premier League for the ninth time in 10 seasons.

"We dominated the game — I think it was one sided game," the Dutch coach said.

The draw leaves Ahly, who won the last of their record eight Champions League titles in 2013, at the bottom with a solitary point. Wydad top the group with seven points, followed by Zambia's Zesco United (6) and Ivory Coast's ASEC Mimosas (3).

Ahly need to win their remaining three matches, including two away games against Wydad and ASEC, to stand a chance of booking one of two group tickets to the semifinals.

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