Ahli beat Congo's AC Leopards 2-1 in Group A at home. The match that Gouna, the Red Sea resort, played host to, witnessed a mess at the start as Ahli Ultras fought among each other which led to the postponement of the starting whistle for 25 minutes. Police put an end to the ruckus but Ahli may face penalties. Ahli scored in the 40th minute through Hamdi Al-Sayed which gave the players self confidence and more enthusiasm to continue their efforts to win the match. Walid Suleiman doubled the Red Devils lead in the 68th minute while Leopards' Eric Niemba scored the visitor's only goal four minutes from time. Ahli goalkeeper Sherif Ikrami was one of the stars of the match as he was able to block a penalty from Leopards' Ulrich Nzamba at the end of the first half. By winning 2-1, Ahli raised their tally to seven points after four games to share the top of Group A alongside South Africa's Orlando Pirates who lost to Zamalek in the same venue. Zamalek share four points with Leopards but Zamalek are behind on goal difference, while Leopards remained third. Two matches remain. “I am very impressed by the players' performance s they exerted their utmost to make up for their previous loss to Pirates but there is still a long way to go as we haven't qualified to the semi-final yet so have to focus on our upcoming games,” Mohamed Youssef, Ahli's newly appointed coach, said. “Our coming game against arch- rival Zamalek is not an easy one as we will play missing three pillars of the team, Gedo and Emad Meteb because of injury in addition to Rami Rabea, after he collected two yellow cards. So it is too early to guarantee qualification to the semi-final and continue our title defending campaign.” Youssef added that what the Ultras Ahlawi did at the beginning of the match “is normal and can happen elsewhere”. Leopards manager Joseph Marius Omog told cafonline, “We respect the tough circumstances we faced because we respect Egypt and understand the current situation. We had a good game but missing the penalty affected us and was the turning point. We could have equalised after we scored our goal but time wasn't in our favour. Now we'll turn our attention towards our next game against Pirates. We have to win this match”. Zamalek on the other hand did the mission impossible after being able to beat South Africa's Orlando Pirates in Group A 2-1 to collect three more points to give Zamalek four points, equal with Leopards at the bottom of Group A. With only victory in mind, Zamalek kept their semi-final hopes alive. The White Knights, four-time winners, last reached the semis of this competition in 2005. Pirates won the first match between the two sides 4-1 a fortnight ago at Orlando Stadium in Soweto but Zamalek was able to avenge itself at home. As Zamalek's right back and deputy captain Ahmed Samir said before the match, “My team will do their best to win and revive their semi-final qualification dreams.” Samir said his teammates are ready to “make up for their humiliating defeat in South Africa”. Zamalek was in a terrible situation, Helmi Tolan, the newly appointed coach said. “The team is passing a very tough period as it lacks players after a number of them quit due to the financial and political situations in Egypt and in the club. Our squad list is down to 21 players, three of whom are goalkeepers. But I have unlimited confidence in my charges, and that the players will give their best to save their campaign.” Zamalek players started the match as lions attacking from the first minute and trying their best to. Shikabala opened the scoring by creating a penalty on the fifth minute through which Eid Abdel-Malek netted. It was through Bassella, the Pirates' attacker that the equaliser came on the 33th minute of the first half. But Toulan's changes allowed the team to quickly score in the second half through Salah Suleiman to win 2-1. The White Knights did their best to keep the result the same until the end. “I asked the players to think only of the game,” Toulan said. “Though it was very tough we have hugely experienced players as Abdel-Wahed Al-Sayed, Ahmed Samir, Ahmed Hassan, Mahmoud Fathalla and Shikabala. They guided their teammates to a crucial victory.” Esperance of Tunisia, beaten by Ahli in the 2012 final, stayed on course to top Group B with a 1-0 home victory over Sewe San Pedro of Côte d'Ivoire.
