Tumultuous turf
Ismaili kicked-off to a good start in the CAF Champions League in Abidjan. Eric Asomugha reports
Ismaili fuelled itself with added hope and confidence last weekend, snatching a valuable away point from Asec Mimosas in the $3.5 million CAF Champions League match. Playing away from home before thousands of fans at Abidjan stadium, Ismaili was forced to a 1-1 by Asec Mimosas in the CAF Champions League Group A Match.
The Milan-based young striker Dramane Traore put Ismaili ahead in the 63rd minute through a well calculated move. Asec fought back for an equaliser, until the 82nd minute when Beauregard Mabea rescued the home team, assisting goalkeeper Mohamed Sobhi and catching him by pleasant surprise.
In a campaign to win the trophy one more time, both teams started the first half seemingly sizing each other up, and approaching the game with caution. A few skirmishes at both ends yielded no results.
Midway in the half, Asec gathered momentum, pushing Ismaili back into their shell for a while. They came closer to scoring in the 16th and 33rd minutes, but were halted through Ismaili's solid defence. Ismaili too had chances of its own. One lost opportunity came in the 20th minute, when a rampaging Islam Mahmoud failed to make quick contact on a through pass from Mohamed Fathi.
After the break, Asec mounted pressure as time ticked away, but Ismaili's defence stood firm, countering every move. With the mass attack from the host, Ismaili took advantage of a porous defence to silence the home fans. It was a momentary silencing, however, coming before a late equaliser that saved Asec from an embarrassing home defeat.
The 1-1 finale was an encouraging result for the Egyptian team, which suffered a humiliating 5-1 defeat to Asec in 1995 -- the biggest loss suffered by Ismaili in 45 champions league games in 34 years.
Other Group A encounters saw the 3-0 away crushing of Nigeria's Enyimba at the hands of Tanzania's Simba in Aba. All goals were scored in the first half before the visitors tightened their defence. Yusuf Mohamed scored in the 21st minute, Muri Ogunbiyi in the 28th, and Joetex Asamoah Frimpong in the 30th.
Eyimba -- which leads group A with three points -- faces Ismaili on 22 Augustin Ismalia for the next round of group matches, while Simba hosts Asec.
In Group B, Atletico Sport of Angola defeated Algeria's USMA 1-0 Luanda. Malamba's commendable moves paid-off in the 11th minute when he scored the only goal of the match. USMA failed to clinch a potential equaliser in the 32nd minute when midfielder Billel Dziri hit the upright with a shot from an unexpected angle. Atletico's defender Sergio was just on time to clear a possible own goal after being hit by the rebound.
In the second group B match, Esperance of Tunisia defeated Canon Yaoundé of Cameroon 2-1 in a controversial encounter in Tunis.
Skander Souayeh scored a 50th minute penalty after Jean-Marc Benie fell in the 18-metre box under a challenge from Canon defender Georges Edoa, who appeared to have made no contact.
A penalty appeal by Cameroon in the first half was turned down, after Jean Blaise Bouli was bundled off the ball by Esperance captain Tarek Thabet. Esperance took the lead in the 12th minute through Mourad Melkiort. Marcus Mokake of Canon levelled the score before the break.
The tension escalates and anticipation mounts as the $3.5 million friction-filled CAF Champions League moves towards its grand finale.
