CAIRO: Early headed goals by Wael Gomaa and Flavio Amado gave title favorites Al-Ahly of Egypt a 2-0 victory over Cotonsport Garoua of Cameroon on Sunday in the first leg of the African Champions League final.
The result just about leaves the destiny of the $1 million first prize and a ticket to the FIFA Club World Cup in the balance ahead of the return match on Nov. 16 in the cotton town of Garoua.
Ahly are seeking a record sixth Champions League title while Cotonsport, who brought Cameroon 1990 World Cup legend Roger Milla along for inspiration, were making their debut in the showpiece event.
The warning lights were flashing at Cotonsport just 120 seconds after the kick-off as unmarked Mohamed Barakat raced on to a pass only to be foiled by the outstretched leg of goalkeeper Kassaly Daouda.
Mohamed Abou-Trika latched on to the rebound inside the area before a capacity 65,000 Cairo Stadium crowd, but the Niger-born custodian proved equal to his task again by parrying the ball away.
However, Daouda had no chance in the third minute as long-serving defender Gomaa met an Abou-Trika free kick at the near post and headed Ahly into the lead in their eighth final appearance.
Cotonsport were reeling under an early Ahly onslaught as the Cairo Red Devils attacked relentlessly, determined to exploit home advantage ahead and make the second leg irrelevant.
And it come as no surprise when Ahly increased the lead on 15 minutes as Angola 2006 World Cup striker Amado took advantage of being left unmarked at a free kick to head wide of Daouda into the corner of the net.Amado may not be the most physically imposing striker in Africa at just 73 kg and 1.73 meters tall, but he was spreading panic every time the ball was crossed into the penalty area.
He came close to scoring again late in the first half with a flashing header off an Ahmed Sedik cross that just missed the target with Daouda again slow to react.
Cotonsport – so impressive when winning home and away against fellow surprise packets Dynamos of Zimbabwe in the semi-finals – posed no serious threat to goalkeeper Amir Abdel-Hamid until one minute before half-time.
Ahly for once lacked composure at the back and were grateful for a hasty Ahmed Al-Sayed clearance after two Cameroonians squandered a chance to snatch a precious away goal.
The visitors began the second half much more impressively than the first and had the ball in the net just before the hour mark through leading scorer Daouda Kamilou, but South African referee Jerome Damon correctly ruled offside.
At the other end, Daouda sprinted off his line to foil Amado, who had been put through by a trademark defense-splitting pass from Abou-Trika, widely recognized as the best footballer in Africa.
Hyper active captain and midfielder Ahmadou Ngomna tested Abdel-Hamid with a deflected shot and Cotonsport threatened again almost immediately with a cross that was wildly booted away.
Ahly are never deadlier than when counterattacking and Abou-Trika was just off target with a close-range shot after Amado foxed the Cameroonians by letting a Barakat cross run past him.
As time ticked away, the Egyptians set their sights on a potentially decisive third goal and Amado wasted good chance when Abou-Trika crossed and Daouda dived to make a fine one-hand save from substitute Sayed Moawad. -AFP
