Barca with big Saric performance in teh semifinal

FC Barcelona - Al-Ahly Sports Club 20:16 (12:8)

FC Barcelona's defence kept Al-Ahly Sports Club from scoring until almost the five-minute mark, at which point the European side had already put two points on the board courtesy of right back Marko Kopljar and left back Wael Jallouz (2:1). A fast break for Karim Osman followed soon after and Barcelona found themselves in a level match that saw an equal score after 10 minutes (3:3). 

Goalkeepers Danijel Saric and Mohamed Aly were proving difficult to pass at both ends, but FC Barcelona still inched ahead to a two-goal lead with an intercept and fast break byRaul Entrerrios. Barcelona brought in some players from their bench – Filip Jicha and Kiril Lazarov, along with Kamil Syprzak as a defensive specialist subbing out forDaniel Sarmiento in attack – and Lazarov soon scored his first to push Barcelona infront by three (8:5, 19th minute).

A bleak six minutes followed for Al-Ahly, who remained scoreless until a ground shot from Mamdouh Abouebaid finally added another to their tally in the 25th minute (11:6). But the game was already all but decided – Barcelona took a four-goal lead into the break and though Al-Ahly pushed through till the 60th minute, the European side were never really threatened. When Omar Elwakil received a red card after three two-minute suspensions, Barcelona were still three ahead (18:15, 54th minute), and they held on to the whistle to move through to the Semi-Final stage.