Cairo Stadium-Osama Khairy: Ahli coach Manuel Jose said that his team will not resort to defence in the return leg of their African Champions League semi-final against ASEC Mimosas. The Portuguese coach said that despite the comfortable 2-0 win in the first-leg in Cairo on Sunday he was still wary of his opponents. "We will be on the offensive in Abidjan, because I was hoping we'd score three goals at home, but that didn't happen," Jose told reporters after the game. The African champions scored their two goals through Mohamed Abou-Treika and Emad Meteb before the interval but failed to increase their tally in the second-half. Jose said that Osama Hosni's injury and early substitution caused him to change his plans. "Even though Osama's injury hit us by surprise, we dealt with the situation and managed to win," the Portuguese boss said. Jose acknowledged that Ahli will face two problems in the second leg in Abidjan, which will take place on October 15th.
"Osama Hosni's injury just adds to our woes and increases the number of players who will miss the next game," said Jose. "We will also have to practice playing while fasting, because the game will be during the day and it will still be Ramadan," he added. Meanwhile, ASEC Mimosas manager Patrick Liewig rued his team's missed chances in the second-half. "I was hoping we can score at least one goal that could help us in the second-leg," the Frenchman said. "But even though Ahli's two goals are like an obstacle, we can still overcome them," he added. Liewig claimed that his team's lack of experience was behind the defeat against the title holders. "The more experienced Ahli players took advantage of our weakness in the first half," he said. "The had four chances and scored twice, which was enough."
