Emad Meteb came off the bench to score for the first time in eight months and help Ahli claim a 2-1 away victory over Kenya's Tusker in the Champions League round of 32. A goalless first half was followed by the introduction of Meteb after the break and the Egypt striker needed three minutes to break the deadlock before adding a second on 57 minutes. It is curiously Meteb's second brace against Tusker in Nairobi, where he inspired Ahli to a 2-0 win in 2006. Tusker pulled one back through Jesse Were but the Reds held on to secure a vital first-leg win. Ahli are now in comfortable position ahead of the second leg three weeks from now. Meteb impact The first half hardly brought any action at either end as Ahli struggled to play their usual passing game on the poor pitch of the Moi International Sports Centre. Ahli boss Hossam Al-Badri made a right move though when he decided to replace Al-Sayed Hamdi by Meteb, who tapped in after three minutes following Abdullah Al-Saied's cross. The revamped Meteb, who missed out on Egypt's squad for the qualifier against Zimbabwe, added another with a trade-mark header from Mohamed Barakat's cross. Only two minutes after Ahli's second, the hosts were back in the game when Were head in past Sherif Ekrami. The reigning champions held on to defend their lead as they are now in pole position for a place in the last 16.
