Ahli president Hassan Hamdi has called on the African champions to “focus” and aim for victory in the decisive second leg of the Champions League against Sfaxien in Tunisia on November 11th. Hamdi met with Ahli's players after their morning training session on Tuesday to encourage them to do their best and return from Tunisia with the trophy. “Mr. Hamdi met with the players and asked them to forget the first-leg and concentrate on winning the second-leg,” Ahli assistant coach Hossam Al-Badri told FilGoal.com on Tuesday. Ahli's chances of retaining the African title received a huge blow after the team was held to a disappointing 1-1 draw in the first leg that took place in Cairo on Sunday. “He reminded the players that the decisive match is the one in Tunis not in Cairo and that if they focus and play their usual electric game they will clinch the title,” added Al-Badri.
Ahli president Hassan Hamdi Mohamed Abou-Treika put Ahli ahead in the 27th minute with an opportunist strike but the visitors grabbed a deserved equalizer through Joetex Frimpong's tap-in after the break. Al-Badri said that had Ahli's players managed to score a second goal in the first-half, the outcome of the game would have been completely altered. On the other hand, Al-Badri said that Hamdi met with Egyptian FA president Samir Zaher to discuss postponing Ahli's league match against ENPPI, which was scheduled for November 5th, to allow the team more time to prepare for the African final. Zaher showed understanding and asked that the club file an official request to the FA in order to postpone the match, Al-Badri added. The Egyptian champions will face Masri in a postponed league game on Thursday.
