Petrojet surrendered their lead twice to draw 2-2 at Zanzibari side Miembeni in the first leg of the African Confederation Cup preliminary round on Friday. The Egyptian side had to do without influential playmaker Walid Soliman, who could not travel with the rest of his teammates after finding out that his passport had expired. Petrojet, who experienced African football for the first time in their history, needed three minutes to take the lead. Midfielder Kamal Ali curled home a free kick awarded for a foul on Petrojet's Ghanaian striker Eric Bekoe. Miembeni's Jackson Elukaga leveled the score on 49 minutes but Egyptian league top scorer Bekoe restored Petrojet's advantage four minutes later. However, he was replaced by coach Mokhtar Mokhtar shortly afterwards after sustaining an injury, making way for Ahed Abdul-Maguid. Elukaga scored his second of the night ten minutes from time to draw Miembeni level and keep alive their hopes of causing an upset in the second leg. Petrojet will be favorites to qualify for the next round though when they host Miembeni in two weeks' time. A goalless or a 1-1 draw will be enough to help them go through.
