Halim hat-trick gets Zamalek off to winning start

CAIRO, Aug 2 (AFP) -- Striker AbdelHalim Aly scored a hat-trick as Zamalek of Egypt triumphed 3-1 over ASEC of Ivory Coast on Friday in the opening group match of the African Champions League.
Halim, who failed to find the target in four qualifiers, struck twice within five minutes midway through the first half and sealed success with a goal three minutes into stoppage time.
Just before his final strike, ASEC came agonisingly close to equalising as a Nantcho Koutouan free kick was acrobatically pushed over the bar by goalkeeper AbdelWahed El-Sayed.
It was a match of two halves with four-time African champions Zamalek dominating the first before a medium-size crowd at Cairo Stadium and not flattered by a two-goal half-time advantage.
But the All Whites lost the initiative from the outset of the second half and ASEC reduced arrears after 61 minutes when an attempted clearance by Besheer El-Tabie struck substitute Mamadou Dansoko and landed in the net.
ASEC, winners of the premier African club competition in 1998, forced eight corners during the second half and Zamalek narrowly escaped conceding a second goal on several occasions before Halim put the issue beyond doubt.
Halim made his intentions known less than a minute into a match staged in perfect conditions, firing a half chance over from a good position inside the penalty area.
He then struck a tame shot at veteran Ivorian goalkeeper Losseni Konate as ASEC struggled to contain the North Africans and captain Abdoulaye Djire was cautioned by Mauritian referee Kim Lee Chong.
Zamalek won their first corner after 21 minutes and it triggered the breakthrough with the ball flicked across goal to the far post where Halim outjumped a rival to score with a header that went in off the hands of Konate.
The second Egyptian goal will be a serious contender for the best of the Champions League with a superb pass from Tamer AbdelHamid setting veteran striker Hossam Hassan free, and his cross was turned in by Halim with 25 minutes gone.
By contrast, the ASEC goal was a sloppy affair as the home team fluffed several attempts to clear a corner before El-Tabie blundered and Dansoko added to one goal scored in the qualifying rounds.
Halim, an anonymous figure for most of the second half as his team fought a rearguard action, struck again by racing ahead of several defenders to tap a low cross beyond Konate.
In the other first-round Group B match, minnows Costa do Sol of Mozambique host former champions Esperance of Tunisia at Machava Stadium in Maputo on Sunday.

 

Ahly lost at home 2-1 to a Senegalese team They do miss Ibrahim Saeed in the defense.
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CAIRO, August 4 (DS) - African League Champions Group 1 match report:

African champions Al-Ahly got off to one of their most possible catastrophic starts in their defence of the coveted Champions' League trophy when they were handed a 2-1 defeat by Senegalese outfits Jeanne d'Arc in front of their own fans in Cairo.

Group 1 favourites, under the helm of new Dutch manager Jo Bonfrere, looked shadows of the side that claimed the continental prize four months ago with quite character and composure, as they ended the first 45 minutes trailing their visitors 1-0, courtesy of a 42nd-minute close-range effort by Da Costa who capitalized on a defensive blunder by keeper Issam El-Hadari to beat him to the near post, following only the second corner for his side in the first-half.

The Reds claimed a slight upper hand in midfield in the first-half, yet it was the visitors' 3-5-2 scheme of play, filling the midfield by numbers, that shot them narrowly at the break, to the complete shock of the 32,000 home crowd.

Ahmed Bilal gave a sign of life for the African champs when he brought both sides on level terms right after the restart, banging home the equalizer from a diving header past the advanced keeper, before seeing his controversial effort in the 66th minute ruled out for off-side by Libyan referee Mohamed El-Shelmani.

It was only a matter of one minute before Al-Ahly saw their opponents punishing them on the break, a fabulous counter-attack on the right flank provided Diaw with the simple mission of beating a hazardous El-Hadari again for the second time in the night, connecting with a lightning pass from the sizzling Pape Diop to force the ball home, 2-1 for the visitors.

Jo Bonfrere made three substitutions later on in order to save his side's blushes but to no avail, with Ahmed Bilal and Khaled Bibo missing two brilliant opportunities to claim an equalizer, as the hosts left the pitch under the jeers of their supporters.