Ahli fans wonder whether a two-goal lead against ASEC will hold up in the return leg of the African Champions League semi-final. Abeer Anwar reports Ahli beat Ivory Coast football legend ASEC 2-0 in Cairo on Sunday in the first game of the African Champions League semi-final. The return leg is in Abidjan on 15 October. Ahli started the match missing defender Emad El-Nahas, midfield magician Mohamed Barakat, Angolan Gilberto and stalwart defender Ahmed El-Sayed, all due to injuries. Flavio, who recently discovered a scoring touch, was absent after picking up two yellow cards. Still, Mohamed Abou Treika opened the scoring for Ahli in the 25th minute with a close-range shot passed perfectly to him by young substitute Amr Samaka. Emad Metab added the second just 13 minutes later with a surprise header which should have been stopped by the keeper. Both goals originally came from soft crosses by newly acquired midfielder Tarek El-Said. Although Ahli dominated the first half, they relaxed in the second when a third goal would have served as a cushion in the return leg in Abidjan. Despite Ahli's laxity in the second half, ASEC could not penetrate deep enough into the goalmouth area to cause any serious concern. ASEC, coached by Frenchman Patrick Liewig, probably couldn't help but remember February when the Egyptian national team, dominated by Ahli players, won the African Cup of Nations after beating the Ivory Coast 4-2 on penalties. The game had ended goalless in regulation time. Ahli's Portuguese coach Manuel Jose was satisfied with the result but not necessarily happy. "The players lost a lot of chances and their relaxation in the second half could have resulted in Ivorian goals. "I hope they will concentrate more in the second leg match." ASEC had secured a seventh successive league title last week, beating Ecole Formation Yeo Martial 1-0 for the top spot. In the other semi-final, the Orlando Pirates of South Africa wasted several scoring chances when they were held 0-0 by Club Sportif Sfaxien of Tunisia on Saturday in the first leg in Johannesburg. The result puts unfashionable Sfaxien in pole position to reach the final for the first time after failing at the penultimate phase against Zamalek of Egypt in their last appearance 10 years ago. It was the first time the Tunisians had failed to score in 13 Champions League outings this year, but timid finishing by 1995 champions Pirates enabled the visitors to keep their fourth clean sheet in seven away matches. The return match will be staged on 14 October at the 20,000-seat Taib Mhiri Stadium in the Mediterranean town of Sfaxien with the odds on a home victory and a third consecutive final appearance by a Tunisian club. Etoile Sahel were outplayed 3-0 on aggregate by Ahli last year after suffering the heartache of a penalty shoot-out loss to Enyimba of Nigeria in the previous decider.
