African champions Ahli lost top spot in the Champions League Group A after a 2-2 draw against JS Kabylie of Algeria on Sunday. The result, combined with Sfaxien's 2-1 win over Asante Kotoko, put Ahli in second spot in their Group A on 11 points, one point behind the Tunisian champions. Ahli, who secured their place in the semi-finals last week, will now face Group B winners ASEC Mimosas of Ivory Coast while Sfaxien will face runners-up Orlando Pirates of South Africa. Ahli dominated the first-half and looked set for a comfortable win over their Algerian hosts when they took the lead after 14 minutes. Flavio Amado controlled an inch-perfect through pass from Mohamed Shawki before squaring to the on rushing Mohamed Abou-Treika who slotted home into the empty net. A rejuvenated Algerian side took the field after the break, threatening Essam Al-Hadari on two occasions, but the Egypt goalkeeper made some crucial saves to keep Ahli's lead intact.
Sfaxien players had good reason to celebrate However, Al-Hadari's luck ran out when he failed to deny Omar Dabo's penalty-kick in the 63rd minute after Moroccan referee awarded a controversial penalty to Yacef Hamza. Hamza seemed to have been brought down in the area by Shadi Mohamed, but television replays showed the player fell untouched. Dabo stunned the Egyptian champions with Kabylie's second when he rose unchallenged to a corner-kick and headed home past the helpless Hadari in the 81st minute. Ahli went all out in search of an equalizer which was achieved deep in stoppage time when Abou-Treika scored from the spot, even though Flavio's initial effort found the net. Nevertheless, Ahli's efforts were in vain as Sfaxien managed to grab a late win against their Ghanaian opponents.
