18 - 24 April 2002
Issue No.582
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 18 - 24 April 2002 Issue No.582 |
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Half-and-half
Two losses and two unconvincing wins by Egyptian football clubs prove that round 16 of Africa's club championships is a difficult proposition. Goals by Walid Salah Abdel-Latif and Hossam Hassan gave Zamalek a 2-0 win over Zambian champions Nakana FC in the first-leg of round 16 of the African Champions League, writes Abeer Anwar.
Zamalek went into the game in Cairo with a new- look assistant coaching staff following the replacement of Helmi Toulan and Ashraf Qassim in the aftermath of poor league results. The shake-up seemed to pay off in the first half against Nakana as Abdel-Latif rose to head home the first goal in the 27th minute. Veteran Hossam Hassan, trying to pick up the slack in the absence of injured midfielder Hazem Imam, scored the second from a scorcher from long range.
Two goals by Ahli's Bilal proved he's worthy of a starting spot
(photo: Abdel-Hamid Eid)
But the second half was a study in contrast as Zamalek fell back in a defensive shell, allowing Nakana free space from which they repeatedly threatened to score.
Defending champions Ahli took an exceptionally long time to take care of business against Sudan's surprisingly defiant Al-Marikh before winning 2-0 in the same tournament, the Champions League.
Al-Marikh, which rarely gave Ahli a scare in the handful of meetings they had in the past, put up a fight in Cairo Stadium on Friday, holding Ahli scoreless until the 72nd minute before allowing two goals in just over one minute.
Both goals were scored by Ahmed Bilal, playing as a starter for his third consecutive game after being used sparingly throughout the season in favour of marksman Khaled Bibo.
Ghazl Al-Mehalla let a 1-0 lead slip away, going down 2-1 to Libyan hosts Ahli of Tripoli in the African Cup Winners Cup.
Mehalla took a one-goal lead into the second half after striker Ikrami Abdel-Aziz's cheeky heel to the ball in the 31st minute.
But no sooner had play begun in the second when Ragab Garbi sliced through the defence to equalise, followed by Osama Hammad who scored what would be the Libyan club's insurance goal. That goal was scored against a 10-man Mehalla team after Abdel- Aziz was ejected following a skirmish with Tripoli's Essam Ragab. Television replays, however, showed the forward innocent of any wrongdoing.
Justice was served in the 72nd minute when Ragab was red-carded himself for tackling from behind.
Misri suffered the most comprehensive loss of the week for the Egyptians, going down lost 4-2 to BDF of Botswana in the Federation Cup first-leg encounter on Saturday in Botswana.
The defeat was the product of overconfidence in Misri's ranks after the side's Ahmed Koshari opened the scoring, capitalising on a confusing moment in BDF's defensive line. But BDF replied in devastating fashion, scoring three unanswered goals in the 31st 40th and 52nd minutes. Walid Abul-Ela brought one back for Misri but in the dying seconds, Jomo scored his second goal and the fourth for his team.
Misri, attempting to become the first Egyptian side to win the Federation Cup, the newest and least prestigious of the three African club championships, must win by a two-goal margin in Port Said in the return leg. They can be consoled by the fact that they dominated the match territorially and can depend on a vociferous home crowd in the second leg.
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