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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 23 - 29 November 2000 Issue No.509 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 23 - 29 November 2000 Issue No.509
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Focus Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Advantage lost
A bizarre second-half goal gave Algeria's J S Kabylie a precious 1-1 away draw against Ismaili in the first-leg of the CAF Cup final. Ben Hamdan Abou Al-Nawa's long-range, 40-metre drive should have been dealt with easily by rookie goalkeeper Mohamed Sobhi who instead dived far too late as the ball rolled into the net. Seven minutes earlier, Ismaili had gone ahead on a penalty and looked on course for the win after Algerian defender Farouk Belkaid was sent off for a punching incident.
The draw strengthens Kabylie's hand in the second leg, to be played in Algeria in early December. It needs only a one-goal victory or a scoreless draw to snatch the relatively new CAF Cup, made for teams who finish second in their local leagues. Kabylie, 11-time winner of the Algerian league, is seeking to become only the second club to win all three of Africa's annual club competitions, having previously won the African Champions Cup twice and the African Cup Winners' Cup five years ago.
Ismaili, which in 1969 became the first Egyptian club to win the African League Champions Cup, hopes to become the first Egyptian club to win the CAF Cup.
A day earlier Egypt's famed Ahli and Zamalek derby ended in a 1-1 draw which maintained Zamalek's lead at the top of the league table. Both teams managed a high-quality first half in which both goals were scored. Second half play, however, slowly degenerated as the fitness level of the players on both teams dropped dramatically.
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