The 1-1 draw against Sfaxien of Tunisia in the penultimate game of the African Champions League has put Ahli in an unenviable spot. Inas Mazhar reports More than 80,000 Ahli fans were forced to leave Cairo Stadium on Sunday with bowed heads after the draw. The small Tunisian contingent, on the other hand, exited joyously, in buses escorted by police, and took advantage of the security umbrella by waving from the windows their team's black and white flags and teasing the locals on the street. Their celebrations continued in the team's hotel until they saw the squad off at the airport. The result theoretically gives the Sfaxiens the advantage in the second leg which they will host in Tunisia on Saturday 11 November. Sfaxien are aiming to win the title for the first time in their history. Ahli had launched a series of attacks at the beginning of the match and striker Emad Miteb was unlucky after eight minutes when his powerful header struck the post. The 23-year-old striker missed two other headers which he might live to regret. Ahli, the defending champions, put the visitors under pressure early in the game and were rewarded for their attempts when Mohamed Abu Treika opened the scoring 25 minutes into the game when his long cross from a free kick was misplayed by goalkeeper Ahmed Jaouachi. But Jaouachi kept his side in the game with a fine performance, and seven minutes into the second half, Ghanaian striker Joetex Frimpong scored a crucial away goal to level the score for his team after he broke free from two defenders to slide home the tying goal. Nobody was happier than the Sfaxien head coach Mourad Al-Mahjoub. "The result is very good but we still have an important game ahead. The second--leg in Tunis is another big game which we'll be working on," Mahjoub told Al-Ahram Weekly. Frimpong, from Ghana, and who played for Eniymba of Nigeria when they won the African Champions League two years ago, was top scorer in last year's championship with seven goals. He was happy as well. "Of course I'm happy because I was lucky to score against Ahli in the first-leg of the final. I'm always expected to score as I'm a striker. Ahli is a big team and though I hope we can win the cup, I believe it's going to be a tough game." The Sfaxien players danced up and down the pitch after the game as if they had already won the tournament. "We are used to playing in such conditions and we have played in Cairo before so we are used the atmosphere," said Sfaxien's Nigerian player Asholla, referring to the boisterous Cairo Stadium crowd. "I think we'll have a better chance playing in our home ground and with our spectators around us. We will feel relaxed," Asholla added. Ahli coach Manuel Jose, seeking a second successive Champions League title and his third with Ahli, was obviously not happy after the draw, a result which means his team must score at least once in Tunisia to have a chance of winning. "Of course we wanted to win. This is normal. But we were unlucky not to score more goals or achieve the result we wanted," Jose told the Weekly. "I believe that everyone knows that we have not been at our full strength since June. We had six injured players having operations and the others are also injured but less seriously. We are missing some of our key players and whom do we have on the bench? Some young players and nobody else." Despite the tie, Jose was in a defiant mood. "This isn't the end yet. We heard the Sfaxiens celebrate in the dressing room but I tell them there is still another game, 90 more minutes to be played. "It has been a busy and crazy schedule set by the Egyptian Football Association. We are playing in two competitions, the national league and the African Champions League. It is very hard. The players are exhausted and tired. How are we expected to perform? The EFA has to consider that Ahli is an Egyptian team. We are playing to bring the African cup to Egypt." Ahli must play against Misri and Enppi in the domestic league before the final with Sfaxien. "Before traveling to Tunisia for the second-leg we should be concentrating on the final. But how can we if we are to play Enppi on 6 November and then head for Tunis two days later?" Jose complained. Jose also had words for the referee of the first-leg. "It is a scandal. There is nothing to do about it and CAF doesn't reply to any complaints with regards to refereeing. Everyone saw the referee [Gambian Modou Sowe] of this match. He failed to clamp down on Tunisian time-wasting and we'll send a video to CAF. I believe it's going to be worse in Tunisia." Sfaxien will play the second leg of the final in Rades Stadium on the outskirts of Tunis. The decision was taken to move the game from the Al-Taib El-Meheiry Stadium in Sfax, the home town of the team, to guarantee more spectators coming to the final. The capacity of Rades Stadium is almost 60,000 and is one of the recently built modern stadiums in Africa, well- equipped to stage the final of the continent's biggest club football competition. The stadium is expected to be packed for the final. "Of course the team wanted the final to be held in Sfax so we can celebrate at home, but Sfaxien is a Tunisian team and the whole nation has to have the right to celebrate with the team if they win," Al-Mahjoub said. Both teams met twice in the group stages, Sfaxien edging the title holders 1-0 at home before losing 2-1 in Cairo. If Sfaxien win the title, it will set up the possibility of a Tunisian club double as compatriots Etoile Sahel are to face titleholders FAR Rabat of Morocco in next month's Confederation Cup final. In Rades, Ahli will make their sixth appearance in the final of the African Champions League. The final will be the second consecutive Egyptian- Tunisian encounter. Last year, Ahli beat Etoile of Sousse.
