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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Ahly win at happy hunting ground in Cameroon

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JOHANNESBURG: Cameroonian city Garoua proved a happy hunting ground once again for Al Ahly of Egypt as they beat Coton Sport 2-0 on Tuesday in the CAF Champions League.


Moemen Zakareya created the first goal for Nigerian Junior Ajayi after 12 minutes and scored the second two minutes later in Group D at Stade Omnisports.


Record eight-time African champions Ahly clinched the 2008 title in Garoua by forcing a 2-2 second-leg draw with Coton having built a two-goal lead at home.


The Cairo Red Devils returned to the centre of the northern Cameroon cotton industry in 2014 and won 1-0 in a CAF Confederation Cup semifinal first leg.


Ahly went on to lift the trophy, one of a record 19 African successes. Closest challengers TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of Congo have 10 titles.


Although lacking several first choices, including former Fiorentina defender Ahmed Hegazy, Ahly were the superior side and could have won more convincingly.


Victory lifted Ahly to top of the table with four points, one ahead of Wydad Casablanca of Morocco, who face Zanaco of Zambia in Lusaka on Wednesday.


It was the second successive 2-0 loss for Coton after failing at Wydad and they are already virtually out of contention for a quarterfinals place.  Ahly are desperate for a top-two finish and progress to the knockout phase after three disastrous Champions League seasons by their lofty standards.


Having been crowned champions in 2012 and 2013, they twice failed to get beyond the qualifiers and were eliminated after the group stage last season.


Zamalek, five-time African champions and Cairo neighbours of Ahly, took over the Group B leadership by drawing 0-0 away to Al Ahly Tripoli of Libya.


The match was staged in Tunisian Mediterranean city Sfax because of ongoing post-Muammar Gaddafi era violence in Libya.


Zamalek have four points, but 2015 runners-up USM Alger can regain first place by avoiding defeat when they meet CAPS United of Zimbabwe in Harare on Wednesday. Group A pacesetters Etoile Sahel of Tunisia snatched a 2-1 stoppage-time victory over Al Merrikh of Sudan in Omdurman through a goal from Algerian Hameur Bouazza. Another “import”, Brazilian Diogo Acosta, put Etoile ahead in the first half and Bakry al Madina levelled soon after half-time. Matches between Ferroviario Beira of Mozambique and Al Hilal of Sudan in Maputo and Saint George of Ethiopia and Esperance of Tunisia in Addis Ababa ended in 0-0 draws. — AFP


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