A late goal by Harras Hodoud could turn out to be a precious one after they lost 2-1 at Tanzania's Simba in the first leg of the African Confederation Cup third round on Sunday. Emmanuel Okwi put the hosts in front after capitalizing on a dreadful defensive blunder ten minutes after the restart. He made the most of a poor back pass by Hodoud full-back Mohamed Mekki to race clear and slot home past Hodoud's Cameroonian keeper Mathurin Kameni. Simba looked to be cruising to a comfortable win after Mussa Mgosi doubled their advantage in the 72nd minute with a shot from inside the area. Ahmed Mekki was unlucky not to pull one back two minutes later when his header struck the post. However, Egypt forward Ahmed Eid made amends with 13 minutes remaining to make sure Hodoud would not have an uphill to climb to reach the fourth round. Eid latched onto a deft through pass before poking home to narrow the gap. Hodoud host Simba, who are best known in Egypt for eliminating then holders Zamalek from the preliminary rounds of the 2003 Champions League, in the second leg in Alexandria after two weeks.
