Super Eagles defender Olisa Ndah was missing in action on Sunday as his Orlando Pirates side took a huge step towards qualifying for the CAF Confederations Cup final.
The South African side picked up an impressive 2-0 away victory at the Martyrs of February Stadium in Benghazi courtesy of first-half goals from Innocent Maela (8') and Goodman Mosele (29').
The Soweto-based side are now one leg into the final of the 2021/22 CAF Confederations Cup final as they just need to avoid defeat by a two-goal margin in the return leg to go through.
Orlando Pirates' perfect first-half hand advantage over Al Ahli Tripoli
Orlando Pirates travelled to Benghazi on a two-match winless run having drawn with Chippa United and lost to TS Galaxy in their past two matches in the South African DSTV Premiership.
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However, they put their recent struggles aside as they started brightly away to shock their Libyan hosts.
A period of early pressure paid off for the Pirates as Maela beat Mohammed Nashnosh in the Al Ahli Tripoli goal just eight minutes into the fixture.
The home side responded with a series of attacks on the South African team but the visitors dug in to repel attack after attack from the Al Ahli Tripoli side.
Against the run of play, Orlando Pirates doubled their lead through the irrepressible midfield maestro Mosele in the 29th minute.
Nashnosh keep Orlando Pirates at bay
Despite having just 36% of the ball throughout the encounter, Orlando Pirates were the more dangerous side on the attacking front, firing off 19 shots with seven (7) on target as against their hosts' two (2) shots on target from 10 shots.
The Libyan side have goalkeeper Nashnosh to thank for keeping the scoreline respectable due to his five (5) saves, two (2) punch outs, one (1) run out, and two (2) clearances to keep the Pirates at bay.
A run of 13 matches unbeaten before the Orlando Pirates game would give Al Ahli Tripoli the confidence that they can turn around the result when they visit the Orlando Stadium in Soweto on Sunday, May 15 for the return leg.