Closing in
Ismaili kept Egypt's last hope alive in the African Champions League after easing into the semi-finals with a 2-0 win over ASEC Mimosas of the Ivory Coast, writes Mohamed El-Sayed
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Abu Greisha, right, sealed Ismaili's victory over ASEC and sent his club to the semi-finals of the African Champions league photo:
Sayed Abdel-Qader
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Amassing 11 points from five matches, Ismaili, widely known as the "Dervishes", got the win they needed against ASEC in Ismailia on Friday to qualify in Group A even though they still have a game left. The victory also guarantees the Egyptians a minimum of $450,000 in prize money.
Several chances were missed by Ismaili, mostly by strikers Mohamed Mohsen Abu Greisha and Malian Dramane Traore before defender Amr Fahim sent a shot that hit the upright before ricocheting off the head of unfortunate Ivorian goalkeeper Stephane Dimy and into the net for the opener in the 10th minute.
Ismaili built up pressure leading to Abu Greisha scoring the second goal in the 31st minute. Shortly after ASEC were forced to continue the game with 10 players after Al-Hassan Koivogui was shown the red card for a dangerous challenge on Ismaili's captain and defender Emad El-Nahhas.
The game being sealed in the first half, the second witnessed a half-hearted performance by Ismaili, though even that was good enough to prevent ASEC from scoring.
"I'm satisfied with my players' performance in light of the pressure on them in the local league, the African championship and the Arab cup in the last few weeks," Theo Bucker, Ismaili's German head coach, told reporters. "Our main goal was to secure the three points to qualify to the semi-finals," he added. "The poor display in the second half was due to exhaustion and the fear of suffering injuries in our ranks."
Ismaili has one away game remaining against Enyimba of Nigeria who failed to secure the point they needed to advance to the semis, losing 2-1 away to Simba of Tanzania. The Ismaili-Enyimba encounter will decide who finishes first in the group.
Ismaili are attempting to collect the most prestigious club prize in African football for the second time. They first won the Champions trophy in 1969, becoming the first Egyptian club to do so.
In Group B, Esperance of Tunisia assured themselves of a berth in the last four after notching 10 points. USMA of Algeria also qualified to the semi- finals with a 2-0 win over AS Aviaco of Angola. USMA is seeking to become the first Algerian club since 1990 to win the African title.
