CAF Champions League 2006

Ahlawy · Sep 10, 2006

I see Ahly vs Sfax in the final match

Althoguh ASEC look really sharp this year and are serious contenders.

Filipe Reis · Sep 11, 2006

ASEC Abidjan take top place in Champions League group
Reuters in Abidjan
10.09.2006

ASEC Abidjan hammered Orlando Pirates of South Africa 4-0 in the Ivorian capital on Sunday to ensure top place in Group B and a spot in the African Champions League semifinals.

Foneye Die struck on either side of halftime to set ASEC on their way and fullback Dacosta Akes Goore and substitute Koffi Konan added two more goals.

Pirates had to play the last 30 minutes down to 10 men after substitute Jabu Pule was sent off for a studs-high tackle, just six minutes after coming on as a replacement.

Both Die's goals came from corner kicks as Pirates' eccentric goalkeeper Francis Chansa was caught out of position.

Die rose above the defence on both occasions to powerfully fire home his headers, first two minutes before halftime and again eight minutes into the second half.

Goore had an easy tap-in for his 58th-minute goal after Arthur Kocou had slammed a long-range free kick against the Pirates crossbar, again catching goalkeeper Chansa out of position.

ASEC finished off the win with a sweeping move in stoppage time in which substitute Konan applied the finishing touch from just metres out.

ASEC's win took them up to 11 points, three ahead of Enyimba of Nigeria with one round left to play.

Enyimba, who beat Hearts of Oak 1-0 Group B match in Aba earlier on Sunday, cannot overtake them because of an inferior head-to-head record.

Pirates dropped to third in the group but can still make the semifinals if they beat Enyimba in their last group match in Johannesburg on Saturday.

Filipe Reis · Sep 11, 2006

Ahlawy said:
I see Ahly vs Sfax in the final match

Althoguh ASEC look really sharp this year and are serious contenders.

I think ASEC will win it.

Ahlawy · Sep 11, 2006

Filipe Reis said:
I think ASEC will win it.

Well im not writing them off and believe they do have a chance but it wont be easy by any means. And im not saying this cause im Ahlawy, but i really do believe that we curently have the best side on the continent and if nothing goes wrong, we should retain the title.
But again, Asec and Sfax will be no walk in the park.

Sabry · Sep 12, 2006

Its difficult to evaluate ASEC's performance considering Group B is not very tough.

I think we should be able to defend our title. Even with many core players missing (Emad El Nahas, Gilberto, Barakat, Mohammed Abdel Wahab) we're still playing confidently in the quarters.

Of course when it gets to the semis and finals we will see tougher teams, but we can at least go in with confidence and experience.

I think we'll meet ASEC in the final. Either them or Sfaxien.

TonyStarks · Sep 14, 2006

Anyone know where I can find a top scorers list for this years CL? Nothing on CAF's website or BBC's.

Sabry · Sep 14, 2006

Try the site of the CL sponsor, MTN:

http://championsleague.mtnfootball.com/live/index.php

Sabry · Sep 14, 2006

Match highlights and goals for Ahly vs Sfaxien:

http://www.cssfaxien.com/~cssfaxien/CL/AlAhly2-1CSS.wmv

TonyStarks · Sep 14, 2006

Thanks for the site!

Filipe Reis · Sep 14, 2006

Enyimba and Sfaxien go in search of draws
by Mark Gleeson in Johannesburg
Reuters
14.09.2006

Former winners Enyimba of Nigeria and Tunisia's CS Sfaxien only need draws on the final weekend of group matches to book semi-final berths in the African Champions League.

Enyimba, who won Africa's top club prize in 2003 and 2004, must avoid defeat away to Orlando Pirates in Johannesburg on Saturday to edge second place over the South African side in Group B.

The top slot in the standings, which guarantees a home tie in the second leg, has already been taken by ASEC Abidjan of the Ivory Coast.

In Group A, CS Sfaxien can still finish top but must beat Asante Kotoko of Ghana at home on Sunday and hope that defending champions Al Ahli of Egypt are beaten in their final match.

Al Ahli have already qualified, but are expected to resist the temptation of playing a second-string side against Algeria's JS Kabylie on Sunday because of the risk of a second-place finish.

Asante Kotoko must win to advance ahead of their Tunisian opponents and their attacking ambitions have been enhanced by the fact that Sfaxien's international defender Issam Merdassi is suspended.

However, the home side will welcome back midfielder Haitham Mrabet from a one-match suspension after he picked up two yellow cards in the competition.

Kotoko will be hoping for a repeat performance from striker Nana Arhin-Duah, who scored twice in last weekend's come-from-behind victory over JS Kabylie.

"As things are now, we have no choice but to go and secure a win in Tunisia," the striker told the club's Web site on Thursday.

"It would be a difficult match, but I am counting of our fighting spirit, and the ambition to play in the semi-finals, to carry us to victory."

ASEC Abidjan are expected to rest key players for their trip to Obuasi to face last-placed Hearts of Oak in Group B.

Filipe Reis · Sep 15, 2006

Top Enyimba defender suspended for crunch Champions League tie
AFP in Lagos
15.09.2006

Nigeria's Enyimba will be without star defender Okey Odita for their make or break CAF Champions League Group B tie against Orlando Pirates of South Africa on Saturday.

Odita has been suspended after he bagged a second booking during the team's victory over Ghana's Hearts of Oak last week.

The big central defender has been in outstanding form for the Nigerian double champions since his transfer from neigbouring Enugu Rangers in the close season and was even picked as the best player in his team's goalless draw at home to Ivorian club ASEC Mimosas last month.

Experienced forward David Tyavkase will also miss the trip to South Africa as he has yet to overcome a niggling ankle injury that has sidelined him since the 3-0 loss at ASEC in Abidjan in August.

Enyimba coach Alphonsus Dike said he is confident his team can get the result they need to advance to the knockout stage of the competition.

"They held us to a 1-1 draw when we first clashed in Aba and I don't see any reason why we cannot pay them back by getting a result in the reverse fixture," Dike boasted.

ASEC lead Group B with 11 points from five matches while two-tine winners of the competition Enyimba are second on eight points but would need at least a draw at third-placed Pirates, who have recorded six points, to secure their place in the semi-finals of Africa's richest club competition.

Filipe Reis · Sep 16, 2006

Nigerian import Okonkwo eliminates former side
Reuters in Johannesburg
16.09.2006

Nigerian import Onyekachi Okonkwo steered his South African club Orlando Pirates into the semi-finals of the African Champions League at the expense of his former team on Saturday.

A curling shot from the midfielder in the 30th minute gave Pirates a 1-0 win over Enyimba of Nigeria in the last of the Group B matches.

Pirates finished second in the group behind Ivory Coast champions ASEC Abidjan, who drew 0-0 with Ghana's Hearts of Oak in Obuasi on Saturday.

Enyimba had just needed a draw in the match in Johannesburg to progress to the semi-finals and had several chances in the game to score but were let down by poor finishing.

Apart from Okonkwo's pin-point shot, Pirates were also poor in front of goal. Congolese international Blaise Mbele missed a chance to extend the lead at the end of the game when he was one-on-one with the goalkeeper but he hit his effort wide.

Pirates now host the winners of Group A in the first leg of the semi-finals at the end of the month.

Group A will be decided on Sunday when the final two matches are played in Algeria and Tunisia.

ASEC Abidjan are up against the runners-up in Group A. ASEC will play at home in the second leg of the semi-final next month.

Their goalless draw in Obuasi on Saturday meant that Hearts of Oak finished bottom of the standings without scoring a single goal.

TonyStarks · Sep 17, 2006

I saw the last 10-15 minutes of the game between Pirates and Enyimba and Pirates should have scored a second. One of the players had a 1-on-1 chance against the goalie but could not lift the ball high enough and the goalie just barely kept it out. Enyimba didnt look dangerous at all, no scoring chances.

Umarnino · Sep 17, 2006

Filipe Reis said:
The two Senegalese sides that participated in this year's Champions League were Port Autonome and Diaraf Dakar.

These were their results:

Round 1
Port Autonome beat AS Douanes (Togo) 0-0 (away) and 3-2 (home)
Diaraf Dakar beat LPRC POilers (Liberia) 0-0 (away) and 3-2 (home)

Round 2
Port Autonome beat USM Alger (Algeria) 2-1 (home) and 2-3 (away)
Diaraf Dakar lost to Enyimba (Nigeria) 0-0 (home) and 0-2 (away)

Round 3
Port Autonome lost to ASEC Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire) 1-0 (home) and 0-6 (away)

You can check these results at this link:http://www.sportscheduler.co.sz/caf_champions_league.htm

Thanx man

Sabry · Sep 17, 2006

Today's results:

JSK 2-2 Ahly
Sfaxien 2-1 Kotoko

Semi finals:

Ahly vs ASEC
Sfaxien vs Pirates

TonyStarks · Sep 17, 2006

Ahly just fell apart in the second half. JSK were ripping them apart and had plenty of chances to finish the game off.

For anyone that didnt watch the game:

Ahly scored in the 14th minute when an unmarked Flavio picked out an unmarked Abou Trieka for an easy tap in. JSK were asleep all first half and I was surprised that the first only ended 1-0 for Ahly. Second half was a different story. First 10 minutes were somewhat neutral but then JSK just took over. They scored two goals (64th and 81st minute) through Omar Dabo. Ahly made some changes and put a ton of pressure on JSK. JSK had 3 counter attacks that should have been scored but they didnt convert and Ahly made them pay with a goal in injury time through penalty (Abou Trieka again). It was kinda weird though since Ahly scored from the cross before but the ref waived that goal off and gave them a penalty instead. Either way, Ahly vs ASEC in the semi's will be nice to watch.

Sabry · Sep 17, 2006

You forgot to mention that JSK's first goal was a dubious penalty hehe..

TonyStarks · Sep 17, 2006

Haha, I wont lie, it was! I just didnt feel like it would have an effect on my report.

Jokes aside, the ref did make some questionable calls. The JSK penalty was definitely one of them. The Ahly penalty (instead of giving the goal), the extra time (7 minutes of extra time?), etc.. All in all, Ahly didnt play their cards right against a JSK team that was there for the taking.

Filipe Reis · Sep 17, 2006

I would love to see an ASEC vs Orlando Pirates final :hopefull:

Filipe Reis · Sep 18, 2006

Final scores and tables of the Final Group Round:

Final Group Round

Group A

Round 6
17 Sep: JS Kabylie 2-2 Al-Ahly
17 Sep: CS Sfaxien 2-1 Asante Kotoko

Group A Table
1. CS Sfaxien (Tunisia) .....6G 4W 0D 2L 9-7 12P Qualified for Semis
2. Al Ahly (Egypt) ............6G 3W 2D 1L 10-4 11P Qualified for Semis
3. Asante Kotoko (Ghana) ..6G 2W 1D 3L 7-10 7P
4. JS Kabylie (Algeria) ........6G 1W 1D 4L 4-9 4P

**************************
Group B

Round 6
16 Sep: Hearts of Oak 0-0 ASEC Abidjan
16 Sep: Orlando Pirates 1-0 Enyimba

Group B Table
1. ASEC Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire) ....6G 3W 3D 0L 11-1 12P Qualified for Semis
2. Orlando Pirates (South Africa) ..6G 2W 3D 1L 4-6 9P Qualified for Semis
3. Enyimba (Nigeria) ...................6G 2W 2D 2L 4-5 8P
4. Hearts of Oak (Ghana) ............6G 0W 2D 4L 0-7 2P

Semi finals
(29/30 Sep or 1 Oct)
Orlando Pirates (RSA) vs CS Sfaxien (TUN)
Al Ahly (EGY) vs ASEC Abidjan (CIV)

(13, 14 or 15 Oct)
CS Sfaxien (TUN) vs Orlando Pirates (RSA)
ASEC Abidjan (CIV) vs Al Ahly (EGY)

CAF Champions League 2006

Ahlawy

Filipe Reis

Filipe Reis

Ahlawy

Sabry

TonyStarks

Sabry

Sabry

TonyStarks

Filipe Reis

Filipe Reis

Filipe Reis

TonyStarks

Umarnino

Sabry

TonyStarks

Sabry

TonyStarks

Filipe Reis

Filipe Reis

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