Ceding no inch
Ismaili continued their unbeaten run in the Arab Football Champions League, writes Mohamed El-Sayed
Having qualified for the 16-team stage after thrashing MC Oran of Algeria 7-3 on aggregate, Ismaili of Egypt got off to an admirable start in the group phase of the Arab Champions League, snatching an away 1-1 draw against Etoile of Tunisia.
The tie with the Tunisian powerhouse was crucial for Ismaili who, having upstaged Esperance, another Tunisian giant, 3-1 five days earlier in the semi-final of the African Champions League, sought to prove that their victory over Esperance was no fluke and was deserved.
From the moment the Egyptian squad arrived in Sousse, hometown of Etoile, located 120 kilometres southeast of the Tunisian capital, they were received with open arms by supporters of the Tunisian squad after Ismaili crushed their arch foe Esperance.
Nevertheless, as the encounter began, the kindness dissipated and the sole aim of the home side supporters was to crush Ismaili to prove that they were better able to defend the reputation of Tunisian football than Esperance as well as CS Sfaxien who also lost at home 3-1 to Zamalek of Egypt two weeks ago in the same competition.
"Oh Ismaili. We are not like Esperance. We are the powerful Etoile," chanted the Tunisian fans who filled Olympic Stadium in Sousse to the full before the kick-off.
The start was relatively quiet and play centred mainly in midfield as each team sought to test the waters first.
As time passed, the home side began launching attacks on Ismaili's defence in an attempt to beat goalkeeper Mohamed Sobhi, but the Egyptians proved hard to penetrate. The yellow shirts resorted to counter attacks to ease the Tunisian pressure and could have scored the opener after 30 minutes through Malian striker Dramane Traore but his shot sailed past the right post.
A few minutes later, Etoile went close themselves when attacker Ayman Boshima, all alone in the area, sent a header into the body of an alert Sobhi. Ismaili replied in the 39th minute as midfielder Ahmed El-Gamal spearheaded an attack from the left flank, serving a pinpoint pass to Mohamed Mohsen Abu-Greisha, who did not do justice to the ball, amazingly sending it over the crossbar.
Just seconds before the interval, Zubair Baiyya, the energetic Etoile midfielder and formerly Tunisia's best footballer, produced a lovely cross from the right to Seif Ghazal who sent a powerful header into Sobhi's net for the home side's first goal.
After the restart, Ismaili regrouped as their German head coach Theo Bucker made a tactical change, bringing on Amr Fahim and repositioning stopper Mo'tasim Salem in midfield. The change bore fruit, leading to the Dervishes dominating throughout the second period.
Sayed Moawwad produced a volley from a corner kick that made its way to the Tunisian net, forcing Seif Ghazal to score an own goal for Ismaili's equaliser in the 68th minute.
Capitalising on the confusion, Ismaili piled up the pressure in an attempt to score the winner. However, Baiyya delivered two successive thumping shots from outside the area that could have put the Tunisians ahead again in the dying seconds of the second period.
With the draw, Ismaili kept their record clean -- no loss to Tunisian clubs in the six encounters that have brought them together in this year's African and Arab champions leagues. They also became the first Egyptian team to score against Etoile in Sousse.
"We snatched a draw in difficult circumstances since we played the game without our best two midfielders, Hosni Abd-Rabbou and Ahmed Fatahi, resulting in less harmony in midfield in the first period," said Bucker. "Our performance improved in the second period, leading to a well-deserved equaliser. We could have doubled the score had we concentrated more."
"It was a hard-fought encounter and we frittered away many golden opportunities," said Baiyya. "Still, Ismaili is a big team which has remarkable skills."
Ismaili is due to play on Saturday the decisive return leg against Esperance in the semi-finals of the African Champions League. Having upstaged the Tunisians 3-1 in Ismailia two weeks ago, Ismaili will try to secure themselves a berth in the final of the most prestigious African championship. However, a 2-0 win for Esperance will send them to the final.
Being the first Egyptian team to hoist the African Champions League trophy in 1970, Ismaili are bidding to win the tournament for the second time in their history.
The Egyptian squad was the main concern of the Tunisian press last week. The sport pages wondered aloud how they inflicted such a heavy defeat on Esperance, a perennial powerhouse among North African football clubs. The weekly Al-Bayan's headline read: "Esperance machines could not work in the Dervishes land." The paper called on Etoile to avenge the defeat by beating the Egyptians in the Arab Champions League.
The weekly Al-Sabah published an interview with Esperance Club President Selim Shaiboub, who had only praise for Ismaili. "It was a bad loss, but you should bear in mind that Ismaili are a wonderful, well-organised team." He added that the return leg will be a "fierce battle".
Aware that Ismaili players do not break their fast during Ramadan, the Tunisians have changed the kick-off from 21.30 local time to 14.00. The change means the game will start during fasting time.
"This is unfair and I would not have expected such dirty tricks from a big club like Esperance," said Bucker. "They know that my players will refuse to break their fast, but they do not realise that this will only motivate my players even more."
Ismaili players refused to break their fast during the first leg in Ismailia, as opposed to the Tunisian players.
Meanwhile, Enyimba of Nigeria won a place in this year's African Champions League final, beating USMA of Algeria 2-1 in Aba, Nigeria. Enyimba won the tie 3-2 on aggregate after the sides drew 1-1 in Algeria last week.
And in the CAF Cup final, Morocco's Raja Casablanca beat Cotonsport of Cameroon 2-0 in the first leg. Mustafa Bidouane and Senegal's Mohamed Ali Diallo scored on either side of the break, in the 11th and 71st minutes, to set up Raja's first leg advantage. The two sides will now meet in Garoua, Cameroon, on 23 November for the second leg decider.
This is the last time the CAF Cup competition will be played. Next year, it will combine with the Cup Winners' Cup to herald a new competition, the Confederation Cup.
Al-Ahram Weekly Online : 13 - 19 November 2003 (Issue No. 664)
Located at: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/664/sp1.htm