Smouha's hopes of springing a surprise and reaching the African Champions League semi-final took another blow when they slumped to a 1-0 defeat away to Mazembe, their second loss to the DR Congo side in two weeks. Forward Roger Assale struck the winner in superb fashion eight minutes after the restart, capitalizing on a poor defensive clearance to send an acrobatic first-timer into the corner of the net for a brilliant goal. The Egyptian club also lost 1-0 to Mazembe in Alexandria last month, which came following a 2-0 defeat away to Sudan's Hilal. They opened their group stage campaign in superb fashion though, coming from two goals down to beat Morocco's Moghreb Tetouan 3-2. Smouha, who are making their debut in Africa's elite club competition, still stand a chance of advancing to the last four although three successive defeats had left them with a mountain to climb. They lie at the bottom of Group A with three points, five behind leaders Mazembe and two adrift of Hilal and Tetouan. (For more sports news andupdates, followAhramOnlineSportson Twitter at@AO_Sportsand onFacebookatAhramOnlineSports.) http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/137307.aspx
