OMDURMAN: Al-Hilal of Sudan crushed African Champions League title holders Al-Ahly of Egypt 3-0 on Sunday to go top of Group B with one round left. Goals by Dario Khan and Hassan Eshag within 10 minutes during the second half set Hilal up for glory before a capacity 35,000 crowd and Ezeh Ndubuisi completed the rout with a late solo effort. Hilal and Ahly have nine points each after five rounds with the Sudanese ahead on goal difference and they will finish first if the clubs end level on points thanks to a superior head-to-head record. It was the second defeat within two weeks for Ahly after a shock 1-0 loss at struggling Esperance in Tunisia and they conceded as many goals against Hilal as in their previous eight matches. ASEC of Ivory Coast are also in contention two points behind the pacesetters after scoring twice during the second half to defeat Esperance of Tunisia 2-0 in Abidjan earlier in the day. Ahly, seeking a record third consecutive title after defeating Etoile Sahel in 2005 and Club Sportif Sfaxien, host ASEC on September 2 at the same time that Hilal play Esperance in Tunis. It took Ahly 85 minutes to break down Hilal in Cairo two months ago en route to a 2-0 win and the defending champions sorely missed Angola World Cup striker Flavio Amado in the electric atmosphere of Omdurman. Competing in the mini-league phase of premier African club competition for the first time, Hilal dominated the first half territorially and veteran Ahly goalkeeper Essam Al-Hadary made several brave blocks. But five-time champions Ahly almost snatched the lead on the stroke of half-time in the steamy Sudanese city when star midfielder Mohamed Aboutraika forced a spectacular save from Mahgoub Al-Muz. Al-Hadary had to be quick off his line just 20 seconds into the second half to foil Nigerian Ndubuisi, but was caught out when Mozambican Khan rose to head a corner into the net after 58 minutes. The stadium erupted again when substitute Eshag unleashed a 35-meter drive that flew past Al-Hadary into the corner of net to give Hilal a two-goal advantage with 67 minutes gone. Consistent scorer Ndubuisi added insult to injury for the shattered Ahly stars by bursting between two defenders and stabbing the ball under the diving Al-Hadary with four minutes left.
