Ismaili produced a mediocre performance but came from behind to earn a 2-1 home victory over Zimbabwe's Green Buffaloes in the first-leg of the Confederation Cup third round. Two goals from Abdullah Saied and Omar Gamal late in the second-half cancelled out Green Buffaloes' opener through Morgan Hanjema six minutes past the hour mark. The Zimbabweans finished the match with nine men on the field after Patrick Masosa and Sekelani Mwale were sent-off for second bookable offenses. A draw or a win by any score-line in the second-leg would be enough to send Ismaili through to the competition's round of 16.
Saied notched the equalizer Striker Amr Samir, who played as a right winger due to the absence of injured Ahmed Al-Gamal, should have grabbed the opener early in the first-half when he controlled a long ball inside the area but sent a poor left-footed shot into the keeper's hands. Ismaili appealed for a penalty before halftime when Omar Gamal was apparently brought down by a Green Buffaloes defender. Television replays showed that there was a clear contact. The hosts were stunned in the 66th minute after a through pass beat the offside trap and picked out Hanjema, who converted the ball into the bottom corner of the net. Saied leveled the score in the 78th minute when he latched on to Mohamed Mohsen Abou-Greisha's headed pass before drilling a shot that took a slight deflection and went into the back of the net. Gamal put the Dervishes ahead in stoppage time after a brilliant individual effort. He floated a loose ball over two defenders and hit a powerful close-range shot home.
