JOHANNESBURG: Title holders Al-Ahly were shock final qualifying round casualties in the African Champions League this weekend.
Ahly came from two goals behind to draw 2-2 with Kano Pillars from Nigeria in Cairo, but were eliminated from the $3.5-million competition on the away-goal rule after a 1-1 first leg stalemate.
The damage was done early in the second half at the Military Academy Stadium as newcomers Kano stunned the Cairo Red Devils by taking a two-goal lead via Victor Namo and Rabiu Mohamed.
Namo tapped the ball over the goalline after Palestine-born goalkeeper Ramzi Saleh parried a Hillary Chukwu shot into his path four minutes after half-time in the Egyptian capital. Badly positioned Saleh was beaten by a Mohamed lob midway through the second half and the glum appearance of Ahly coach Manuel Jose from Portugal said it all as the champions realized they were in serious trouble. Ahly reduced arrears on 75 minutes thanks to their Angolan stars with Flavio Amado scoring with a near-post header off a corner from Felisberto “Gilberto Amaral.
Amado set up the equalizer four minutes from full-time with a pass to Mohamed Barakat, who fired past goalkeeper Joel Theophilus from close range to set up a tense climax.
However, five minutes of stoppage time failed to deliver another Ahly goal and the club that contested the last four finals and won three was eliminated.
The Devils were favored not only to overcome a Kano team with no African pedigree or big-name footballers, but to go on and lift the trophy a record seventh time.
Ahly have been struggling on the domestic front, dropping four points in their last two fixtures, and trail Ismailia by three points entering the closing rounds of a championship they have won for the last four seasons.
Heartland completed a wonderful weekend for Nigeria by dumping 2008 Champions League runners-up Cotonsport Garoua from Cameroon out of the premier African Football Confederation club championship.
The club from the eastern city of Owerri took a one-goal first leg lead to Cameroon, where they forced a 1-1 draw with Ike Thankgod putting the visitors ahead and Salif Keita leveling before half-time.
Former champions Etoile Sahel of Tunisia and Tout Puissant Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Al-Merreikh of Sudan and Zesco United of Zambia also reached the mini-league phase.
Etoile followed a goalless draw with Al-Ahly Tripoli in Libya by winning 2-0 in the Mediterranean resort of Sousse via first half goals from Ghanaian Sadat Boukari and Ammar Jemal.
Zesco also built on a goalless first leg as they came from behind to oust Djoliba from Mali 2-1 in Ndola where a Janvier Abouta goal was cancelled by Lottie Phiri and Enock Sakala headed the 76th-minute winner.
Mazembe forced a 0-0 draw at Al-Ittihad Khemisset of Morocco to squeeze through 1-0 on aggregate and big-spending Merreikh made it despite being held 1-1 by Kampala City Council from Uganda in steamy Omdurman.
Merreikh held a 1-0 advantage from the first leg and went further ahead on aggregate 62 minutes into the return match when Nigerian Endurance Idahor scored only for Bryan Umony to equalise with 10 minutes left.
The line-up for the May 7 group draw in Cairo will be known later Sunday after Al-Hilal from Sudan host Primeiro Agosto from Angola in Omdurman and Monomotapa of Zimbabwe meet ASEC Mimosas of Ivory Coast in Harare.
