Egypt's Ahly missed out on making a winning start to their Arab Club Champions Cup campaign after they squandered a slew of goal-scoring chances in a disappointing 0-0 draw at home to Lebanon's Nejmah in the first leg of the competition's round of 32 in Alexandria on Monday. The mighty Cairo club could not score a decisive winner despite pinning Nejmah into their own half for the entire game, having proved profligate especially in the first half. Resting some key players like Moroccan striker Walid Azaro, Tunisian fullback Ali Maaloul and Malian defender Salif Coulibaly, Ahly coach Patrice Carteron made some major changes in his starting line-up. The French coach fielded understudy keeper sheriff Ekramy, while Mohamed Hani played as a right-back instead of the veteran Ahmed Fathi, who was deployed as a central midfielder. Ahly will be hosted by their Lebanese counterparts in the second leg on 27 September. They will need to win away from home to advance to the last 16. The Egyptian Premier League winners reached the semi-final of the Arab tournament last year but suffered a surprise exit at the hands of Jordan's Al-Faisaly, who lost to Tunisian giants Esperance in the final. (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)
