Al Ahli make quiet start

JOHANNESBURG – Egypt’s Al Ahli made a quiet start to their African Champions League defence with a goalless draw in Zimbabwe in their second round, first leg encounter on Sunday.

They found the back of the net in their tie against Highlanders in Bulawayo but striker Flavio’s effort was ruled out for a handball. Given a first-round bye, Al Ahli travelled to Zimbabwe with some trepidation given the absence of several key players and exasperated further after midfielder Mohamed Shawki picked up an injury on the eve of the game.The draw gives Al Ahli the advantage for the return leg in Cairo in a fortnight.Ivory Coast’s ASEC Abidjan, also handed a bye to the second round, made a more emphatic start as new signing Laby Kassiaty Gildas scored the only goal of their first-leg tie away at FC Kallon in Freetown, Sierra Leone.Morocco’s Royal Armed Forces, also allowed to skip a round, were beaten 2-0 at AshantiGold in Obuasi, Ghana on Sunday.Shaibu Yakubu scored a penalty early in the second half and Alex Asamoah got the second in stoppage time for AshantiGold.Elsewhere, Zamalek of Egypt went down 2-0 to Al Hilal in Sudan, while Nigeria’s Nasarawa United and Young Africans of Tanzania recorded the most convincing wins of the weekend, both scoring 3-0 wins over their respective opponents.Nasarawa thumped Gambia’s Ports Authority on Sunday while the Tanzanian side scored three goals in the last 13 minutes to set up a handy lead over Angola’s Petro Atletico before the return leg.In Antananarivo, Tresor Mputu scored his sixth goal of this year’s tournament with the first effort in a 2-2 draw for his club TP Mazembe Englebert at AS Adema of Madagascar in Antananarivo.Nampa-ReutersGiven a first-round bye, Al Ahli travelled to Zimbabwe with some trepidation given the absence of several key players and exasperated further after midfielder Mohamed Shawki picked up an injury on the eve of the game.The draw gives Al Ahli the advantage for the return leg in Cairo in a fortnight.Ivory Coast’s ASEC Abidjan, also handed a bye to the second round, made a more emphatic start as new signing Laby Kassiaty Gildas scored the only goal of their first-leg tie away at FC Kallon in Freetown, Sierra Leone.Morocco’s Royal Armed Forces, also allowed to skip a round, were beaten 2-0 at AshantiGold in Obuasi, Ghana on Sunday.Shaibu Yakubu scored a penalty early in the second half and Alex Asamoah got the second in stoppage time for AshantiGold.Elsewhere, Zamalek of Egypt went down 2-0 to Al Hilal in Sudan, while Nigeria’s Nasarawa United and Young Africans of Tanzania recorded the most convincing wins of the weekend, both scoring 3-0 wins over their respective opponents.Nasarawa thumped Gambia’s Ports Authority on Sunday while the Tanzanian side scored three goals in the last 13 minutes to set up a handy lead over Angola’s Petro Atletico before the return leg.In Antananarivo, Tresor Mputu scored his sixth goal of this year’s tournament with the first effort in a 2-2 draw for his club TP Mazembe Englebert at AS Adema of Madagascar in Antananarivo.Nampa-Reuters