CAIRO - Egyptian giants Al-Ahly have finished their preparations for their crucial tie today at 6:30pm (Cairo Local Time [CLT]), their first-leg clash against Stade Malien of Mali in the round of 16 in the African Champions League (ACL) in Mali, Egypt's official Middle East News Agency (MENA) reported. The team held their main training session at the Stade Malien Stadium, which will witness this evening's clash, MENA quoted Al-Ahly Director Sayyed Abdel-Hafez as saying. Khaled el-Darandali, an Ahly Club board member and the head of the mission in Mali, said that the game is going to be a difficult one for many reasons. "The difficulty lies in the hot weather in Mali and the security situation here in Egypt, where sporting activities have been suspended," el-Darandali told the media, adding that the team are suffering some absences due to injury. “We have come to Mali hoping for a decent result, to stand us in good stead for the second-leg game in Cairo.” Al-Ahly enter the match without several key players, including Brazilian striker Fabio Junior, who's injured, and team captain Hossam Ghali, who's fallen out with Portuguese technical coach Manuel José da Silve. Jose is relying on the experienced trio Abdullah Al-Saeed, Wael Gomaa and Mohamed Barakat. Striker Emad Mete'b said that he and his team-mates are determined to do well in Mali, to help them qualify for the group stage of the ACL tournament. The Red Devils qualified for the round of 16 after defeating Ethiopian Coffee 3-0 in Cairo, thanks to a goal from striker Fabio Junior and a brace from playmaker Mohamed Abou Treika; in the first leg, the two teams had played out a goalless draw in Addis Ababa. "The Stade Malien game will be a very tough one, as we'll be away from home, in front of the opponents' fans," Mete'b told Al-Ahly's official website. “But we're all concentrating very hard.” The Stade Malien team are in second place in the Malian Premier League, nine points behind leaders Dijolbea team. Al-Ahly Senegalese striker Dominique Da Silva said that he is ready for the game, just hoping that the coaching staff will pick him, as he told MENA, adding that the players want to win the African tournament and dedicate their victory to the victims of the Port Said tragedy. On February 1, in the coastal city of Port Said, an Egyptian Premier League match between Al-Masry and Al-Ahly turned violent, claiming the lives of at least 74 Ahly fans and injuring around 1,000 more. Seconds after the final whistle, thousands of supporters of Port Said team Al-Masry invaded the pitch, hurling bottles and rocks at the fans of Cairo's Ahly. As a result, early in March, the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) cancelled the Premier League 2011-12 season, deciding to replace it with a friendly tournament called the ‘Martyrs' Cup' and the Egypt Cup, played behind closed doors. But then, in mid-March, the EFA decided to cancel the Martyrs' Cup and Egyptian Cup after Al-Ahly Ultras groups threatened to cause trouble in the stadiums, if the tournament and the Egypt Cup went ahead before the perpetrators of the massacre in Port Said were punished. Last month, the EFA decided to freeze the first team of Al-Masry Club of Port Said for two years, coupled with a home-play ban lasting three years. Al-Masry's youth and junior teams are excluded from the EFA sanctions. Last week, the Grievances Committee at EFA increased the sanctions on Al-Masry Club, which will now be relegated to the Second Division after a one-year suspension from all football competitions, while the ban on their playing matches on home soil has been upped to four years from three years. The Committee has also increased the sanctions imposed on Al-Ahly Club, as the team will have to play the first four matches of the new season away from home, with the first match held behind closed doors. The Committee has also fined the club LE60,000 (around $10,000) and suspended the team's technical coach, Manuel José da Silva, for four games and fined him LE5,000 (around $800). Further, the committee has also decided that Ahly captain, Hossam Ghali, will be suspended for six games and fined LE10,000 (around $1,600) for bad behaviour. Hossam Ashour, the Ahly midfielder, told MENA that the technical and physical fitness of the team is not 100 per cent, due to the suspension of sports activities in Egypt, while Stade Malien are participating in their local league and are all ready. The Red Devils are mainly depending on the return of Wael Gomaa to add strength to the defence line, besides defender Sherif Abdel-Fadil and left-back Sayyed Moawad. Egyptian teams have previously played Malian clubs four time ��" all in the African Confederation Cup ��" and each time the Malian clubs have won. According to Al-Ahly's website, Manuel José has been urging the players to win. "We really want the ACL trophy after the cancelling of the Premier League and the Egypt Cup," he said. Mohamed Youssef, Al-Ahly assistant coach, said that the coaching staff want the players to score an early goal which would have “a magical effect”.
