Al-Ahram Weekly | Sports | Three steps closer to the African goal

		Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 17 - 23 May 2001 Issue No.534
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875		Current issue \| Previous issue \| Site map

Three steps closer to the African goal
Egypt's three football clubs continued their quest to conquer Africa, writes Alaa Shahine

Hassan about to let fly (top) while Ahli's Robert Equary gets by
photos: Amr Gamal & Mohamed Mos'ad

Ahli, Zamalek and Ismaili maintained their perfect record in the African Champions League and Cup Winners Cup, earning three comfortable first-leg home victories to put them on the verge of the quarter-finals.
Ahli, Egypt's sole representative in the Champions League, trounced lowly Saint Michel of Seychelles 5-0. Ahli supporters were forced to wait a full 36 minutes before Hadi Khashaba began the goal-fest with a deft shot while on the run.
The dam broke after the break thanks to veteran Walid Salaheddin who orchestrated the team's attacks from the midfield. Salaheddin, who has been sidelined most of the season, sent Khaled Bibo on a breakaway with only the keeper to beat, which he did, in the 55th minute.
Alaa Ibrahim shook the rust and dust off his scoring boots as he netted Ahli's third goal when he unleashed a shot that left the goalkeeper stranded. Ahli applied the pressure with goal No 4 by Salaheddin who pounced on a rebound after a shot had hit the post.
Ibrahim added the final blow one minute before the final whistle when he rose to meet a pinpoint cross and headed home.
On the same day, Ismaili edged Simba of Tanzania 2-0 in the Cup Winners Cup. Prior to the match, the guests refused to enter Ismaili's changing rooms, apparently fearing the affects of imaginary local black magic, and insisted on changing on the field. That failed to stop Ismaili, known as "The "Dervishes," from scoring two magical goals of their own.
Mohamed Salah Abu Greisha, looking to regain form and some prestige lost after a poor showing with the national team against Senegal last week, broke the deadlock in the 30th minute with a spectacular free kick which sailed past the helpless Tanzanian keeper.
Nigerian John Otaka was even more sensational, scoring with his heel to make it 2-0.
Ismaili should have added a couple of more goals but failed to come up with any more magical moments.
"We suffered from obvious mistakes by the referee," the head of the Simba delegation claimed. "But we promise to score more than two goals in the second leg."
In the same competition, defending champions Zamalek had the roughest ride of the Egyptian trio, fighting hard for a 2-0 victory over Zambia's Nekana Red Devils, certainly the strongest of the three African visitors.
A dust storm that blanketed the city and made visibility extremely poor appeared to unsettle the home team players who were pitifully lethargic. The Red Devils took advantage, coming the closest to scoring first in the dying seconds of the first half when Frazier's cheeky lob grazed the crossbar.
Right back Ibrahim Hassan got things going for Zamalek in the 63rd minute when a defender's shot ricocheted off Hassan's outstretched leg into the goal.
The hosts were awarded a penalty kick in injury time after Hossam Hassan was brought down. Hassan himself took the spot kick and made no mistake to double Zamalek's lead.
Speaking to reporters after the match, Hassan, the world's most capped player, described Zamalek's performance as the worst this year. "I don't think we played this bad before. But I believe that the result is quite satisfactory due to the terrible weather conditions," he added.
"I think it is a comfortable victory despite the performance," Zamalek's German coach Otto Pfister told reporters. "It would be hard to concede three goals in the second leg but I wish the players concentrate more than they did today."

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