2 - 8 May 2002
Issue No.584
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 2 - 8 May 2002 Issue No.584 |
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On course
The four Egyptian clubs in Africa's premier soccer championships are continuing their quest for football glory, reports Abeer Anwar
As they resumed their drive for the three major club football African trophies, all four participating Egyptian clubs are still in the running.
Mehalla's Essam Abdel-Aal keeps the ball in play photo:El-Sayed Abdel-Qader
Following a nerve-wracking second leg encounter in Khartoum, title-holders Ahli secured a place in the next stage of the African Champions League despite going down 3-1 to Sudanese hosts Mariekh.
A 2-0 home win two weeks earlier, in addition to a Khaled Bibo strike in the second leg, allowed Ahli to get by Mariekh on goal aggregate.
Bibo's first-time left-footed drive early in the second half effectively sewed up the game for Ahli, but three unanswered goals by Mariekh -- all made possible by slack marking by the defence -- made the game too close for the Egyptians' comfort..
Playing in the same tournament but under less stressful conditions, Zamalek also advanced after drawing 1-1 with Nkana of Zambia in Zambia. The win also gave Zamalek a badly needed shot in the arm following three winless matches in the local league which dropped the team from the top of the standings.
Khaled El-Ghandour gave his team the lead three minutes from kick-off while Nkana equalised in the 43rd minute after Egyptian midfielder Tareq El-Sayed easily gave up possession of the ball, leading to an easy Zambian counterattack which was converted without hesitation.
Ahli and Zamalek are now among the final eight teams in the Champions League. The sides will be divided into two groups of four teams each which will play a round-robin format.
Misri of Port Said made up for their 4-2 defeat by BDF of Botswana in the first leg by winning 2-0 in their second leg CAF Cup match on Friday in Port Said.
Misri's two goals were courtesy of striker Yasser Mohamed in the 43rd minute and midfielder Mohamed Abdel-Satar eight minutes before the whistle from a penalty.
This is Misri's first appearance in the CAF cup, a relatively new championship, which encompasses teams that finished in second place in their respective leagues.
Ghazl Al-Mehalla booked a place in the quarter-finals of the African Cup Winners Cup after beating Ahli of Libya 2-0 in Mehalla in a bad-tempered game which saw the Libyan squad cut down to only eight players by the end.
The goals came courtesy of Ashraf Mamdouh in the 42nd minute from a penalty kick and Mahmoud Sobhi in the 46th minute. But the busiest man that day was Somali referee Osman Salad who flashed the red card to three Libyans, one of whom had punched him in the face.
Tempers first flared when the guests, who won 2-1 in Tripoli in the first encounter, conceded what they believed was a disputed penalty late in the first half.
The second half became a donnybrook after Mehalla's second goal as the Libyans, seeing the game slip out of their hands, resorted to kicking their opponents instead of the ball.
The draw for the next phase of the competitions is scheduled for 11 May in Cairo.
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