Zamalek secured an easy victory over Africa Sports of Ivory Coast with two first half goals, Ahmed Morsy reports Egyptian giants Zamalek claimed a 2-0 home win over Africa Sports of the Ivory Coast in the first leg of the round of 32 in the 12th edition of the African Champions League on Sunday in Cairo. Five-time champions Zamalek should thus have a relatively easy task to go through when they face the Ivorian team in Abidjan on 6 April. Zamalek beat APR of Rwanda a 4-1 aggregate in the round of 64. On Sunday, a deft through pass from Gamal Hamza released the in-form Amr Zaki, who went one-on-one with the keeper before sending a low shot into the bottom corner of the net to give his side the lead after half an hour. Zamalek went two up four minutes later through Mohamed Abul-Ela, when Zaki met Hamza's free-kick with a powerful header that cannoned off the bar. The ball went into the path of Abul-Ela, who had the easiest of tap-ins to increase the lead. Africa Sports midfielder Thierry Zahui saw his fierce drive strike the crossbar one minute after restart. It was the Ivorians' only threat in the second half. Substitute Hazem Emam squandered a glorious opportunity to add a third goal one minute from time. He latched onto another neat pass from Hamza to go clear on goal but his poor efforts missed the target. "The players were overly-confident after scoring two goals in the first half. Unfortunately, this is one of the Egyptian players' major weaknesses," Zamalek assistant coach Mohamed Helmi told Modern TV. "If Africa Sports capitalised on Zamalek's wastefulness in the second half, our task in the return leg would have been difficult. Helmi gave special praise to Zamalek goalie Mohamed Abdul-Monsef, "who put in an impressive display." Helmi played down the importance of the absence of Beshir El-Tabie and Shikabala from the squad for disciplinary reasons. The duo was punished after disobeying the technical staff instructions in training. In the same competition, Ahli have advanced to the CAF Champions League round of 16 after Eritrean opponents Al-Tahrir withdrew from the competition. Al-Tahrir were to have faced Kenya's Tusker in round 64 but Tusker were excluded from the competition due to the country's failure to fulfill financial obligations towards CAF. Al-Tahrir in turn withdrew due to similar financial constraints. Ahli assistant coach Hossam El-Badri said there will be changes in the Red Devils' future matches. Elsewhere, Enyimba provided some joy for Nigerian fans with a 4-0 thrashing of Tanzania's Simba, two goals coming from second half penalties. Dynamos of Zimbabwe beat Costa do Sol of Mozambique 3-0 while Gabon's FC 105 drew 1-1 away to DR Congo's TP Mazembe. Togo's ASKO Kara beat Club Africain of Tunisia by 2-0 thanks to goals from Camara Poupotitero and Vincent Tchalla. On Saturday, holders Etoile du Sahel made a solid start to the defence of their Champions League title with a 5-0 defeat of Senegal's AS Douanes. Tunisia international Mehdi Ben Dhifallah scored twice with Cape Verde winger Ja, Afouan Gharbi and Mossaab Sassi adding a goal each. Moroccan champions Olympique Khouribga beat Algeria's Entente Setif 2-0 in the first leg of their second-round tie. Lemrani Allaoui and Zakaria Amzil were on target in the win. It leaves former African champions Setif with a difficult task in the return match at the end of the month. Moreover, former English Premier League striker Peter Ndlovu opened the scoring as Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa beat Curepipe Starlight of Mauritius 3-0. Giant killers Sporting Praia of Cape Verde Islands, who eliminated Morocco's FAR Rabat in the previous round, needed a last-minute goal to beat Angola's InterClube 2-1 in the first leg of their second-round tie. JS Kabylie (JSK) of Algeria beat Ghana's AshantiGold 3-0 on Friday thanks to a brace from Nabil Hemani to leave them in a strong position to advance twice. In the Confederation Cup, the second-tier African club knockout competition, Haras Al Hedoud of Egypt claimed an away goalless draw to MC Algeria in the first leg match of round of 32 on Friday. A home win in the second leg in Cairo will grantee qualifying to the second round regardless of the score. Haras are scheduled to meet the MC Algeria at home on 5 or 6 April. This is the 5th edition of the Confederation Cup.
