THE FOUR Egyptian football squads playing in Africa's two biggest club championships experienced varying degrees of fortune, including a bizarre incident in which a game was not played. In one of the odder events in African soccer, the CAF Confederation Cup match first leg round 16 between Ismaili and Rwanda's APR was never played after airport authorities refused to let Ismaili club players into the country. The match had been scheduled for 10 April but after a six-hour journey by plane, Ismaili were not allowed to enter the country, reportedly per the instructions from Rwanda's president. "They told us that the match is on the 14th and not 10 April so we had to return," Mahmoud Abu Ali, an Ismaili official, said. "We made sure of the date with the CAF headquarters in Cairo. Rwanda's request to postpone the match was refused so we will take the issue back to the CAF in Egypt." The CAF Inter-clubs Committee is to take a decision concerning the game. In the same competition, second division Arab Contractors were downed by Sudan's Al-Merreikh 3-1. The Contractors could not produce the same play that placed them in the tournament and must now win at least 2-0 in the second leg to advance. Al-Ahli edged USM Alger of Algeria 1-0 in the first leg match of the African Champions League round 16. A goal by Mohamed Barakat in the sixth minute sealed the precious away win for Ahli on Friday. Manuel Jose, Ahli's technical manager, thanked the players for the effort. "I think the players did their best and I am very satisfied with the result." "Ahli surprised us with their technique," Gamal Manad, USM Alger coach, said. "I thought they wouldn't be so good playing on artificial grass." Second leg matches will be played on the 22-24 April with the winners progressing to the group stages while the losers take part in the Confederation Cup play-offs. Zamalek produced a decent result in the same Champions League round, holding AS Aviacao of Angola to a 1-1 draw in Luanda. A win would send Zamalek, four-time winners, to the next round.
