Ismaili and Harras Hodoud played out a 1-1 draw Friday in a friendly match that was held as part of both teams' preparations for the CAF Confederation Cup. Ndubuisi Godwin hit the opener for the Dervishes in the first half before Hodoud's Ahmed Eid restored parity ten minutes from time. Ismaili were reluctant to face Sofapaka of Kenya in the Confederation Cup as the Egyptian Premier League stoppage took a toll on the coastal side. But the display they produced against Hodoud was promising, Ismaili's assistant coach Ahmed Kenawi believes. "The coaching staff were reassured to see our players' level of performance but we still need to play more friendly matches," he told FilGoal.com. "It's our first pulsating game with a top-flight team in quite a while… but we still need to play more games." All sports competitions were indefinitely halted in Egypt after demonstrations broke out and turned into a full-scale revolt that toppled ex-president Hosni Mubarak last month. ENPPI coach Tarek Al-Ashri is convinced that the Egyptian teams vying for African titles were abysmally affected by the current circumstances. "We needed to play like four competitive games before our African matches," he told FilGoal.com. "Unfortunately we are not 100% ready for the Confederation Cup. "Now we are seeking to play more warm-up games. We will face Military Production and Wadi Degla." ENPPI will take on Ethiopia's Dedebit this month too.
