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Al-Ahram Weekly 28 Oct. - 3 Nov. 1999 Issue No. 453 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 28 Oct. - 3 Nov. 1999 Issue No. 453
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Profile Study Special Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters One hope left
By Abeer AnwarAhli remained in the running for Africa's most prestigious football club championship, but Zamalek and Misri were not as fortunate, bowing out of the semi-final stage of their respective tournaments to two teams from Tunisia.
Ahli trounced Shooting Stars of Nigeria to keep their hopes alive of winning the African Champions Cup. The win gave the Egyptian club nine points, one point less than Ragaa of Morocco which drew 1-1 with Ghana's Hearts of Oak in Accra. The results have set up the anticipated Ahli-Ragaa clash in Morocco on 6 November to decide the winner of the group.
Hisham Hanafi opened the scoring for Ahli in the 21st minute with a close-range header following a blunder by Stars' goalkeeper who failed to clear a high cross. Ahmed Belal made it 2-0 12 minutes later with another header.
Misri's Hamad Ibrahim tries to control the ball as two players from Al-Afriqi of Tunisia close in (photo: Mohamed Mussad)
A penalty kick by Hadi Khashaba and a goal by substitute Alaa Ibrahim in his first touch of the ball gave Ahli two more goals in the second half. Stars' lone consolation goal came on a breakaway late in the game.
Egypt's national team striker Hossam Hassan, making his first appearance since May following a fractured leg and surgery on his neck, played the final 15 minutes but will obviously need more playing time before his form returns.
In Cairo, in a Confederation Cup semi-final, second-leg encounter, Zamalek lost out on a place in the final even though the club beat Tunisia's Al-Nejm Al-Sahili 3-1. The Tunisians instead went through after qualifying 3-3 on aggregate, with the away goals rule counting against Zamalek. Zamalek had lost 2-0 in the first leg. More than 70,000 turned up in Cairo Stadium to see a hesitant Zamalek side whose errant passes in the first half resulted in several dangerous counterattacks by the speedy Tunisians. The second half began with Zamalek still in disarray. Al-Nejm, emboldened by Zamalek's consistently erratic play, scored the all-important goal in the 57th minute. The goal galvanised Zamalek, whose players, led by substitutes Mohamed Sabri and Khaled El-Ghandour, orchestrated an abrupt, albeit late turnaround. Zamalek replied with three unanswered goals, including a penalty in the dying seconds, but the effort came up short as time simply ran out.
It was a miserable night in Port Said as the home team lost a 4-0 shocker to Tunisia's Al-Afriqi in the second leg of the Cup Winners Cup. The clubs had played to a goalless draw in the first leg, boosting Misri's hopes of reaching the final in the club's first-ever entry in a major African tournament. But the 65,000 fans were in for quite a surprise and a long night as Al-Afriqi scored twice late in the first half and added two more in the second, each time easily penetrating a porous Misri defence. The defeat was of mammoth proportions, rarely befalling a club playing at home. The margin of victory was so huge that it seemed only inevitable that the Port Said fans, known for their hooliganism even in victory, would vent their anger by breaking the windows of several parked cars and scuffling with police on the streets. Following the match Misri officials said they would fine the players, adding that big changes in the coaching staff might lie ahead.
