Zamalek could only register a 1-0 victory over a resilient Vita Club side in the Champions League round of 32 first-leg at Alexandria's Army Stadium, thanks to a stunning Ahmed Gaafar strike. DR Congo's Vita Club, who defeated Togo's Dynamic Togolais 5-1 on aggregate in the previous round, unexpectedly proved resolute for the hosts, who had to wait till the 67th minute for Gaafar to score the sole goal of the game. The game witnessed the return of some 3000 fans cheering on the Cairo giants as the return leg takes place three weeks later in Kinshasa. Gaafar downs steadfast Vita The visitors showed they are not a side to be underestimated from early on and could have taken a shock lead after 11 minutes when midfielder Nzinga Luvumbu saw his strike rattle the bar. Full-back Ahmed Samir, who scored two headers in the Whites' last two league games, replied 11 minutes later with a close-range header that was saved by keeper Nelson Lukong. Zamalek were in complete domination in the second half as striker Gaafar saw a header blocked before being guilty of another glaring miss with keeper Lukong again superbly thwarting his one-on-one effort from inside the area. Gaafar, however, made amends minutes later with a superb strike with the outside of his boot following a sublime dummy by Ahmed Hassan and a terrific run by Sabri Rahil, but the reaction of the Zamalek striker overshadowed the quality of the goal. Zamalek remained in control in search for another first-leg goal as manager Jorvan Vieira introduced Burkinabe striker Abdoulaye Cisse and Ahmed Eid but the Congolese opponents held on to end the game with a narrow lead for the Whites.
