JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — Egyptian
Mahmoud Hamdy and Tunisian Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane, both of
whom played in the recent
Africa Cup of Nations, starred in the CAF Champions
League on Saturday.
اضافة اعلان
Center-back Hamdy scored
five minutes into added time to rescue a 2–2 Group D draw for Zamalek at home
against Petro Luanda of Angola as the group phase kicked off.
The five-time
African champions from Cairo trailed by two goals at half-time and were facing a
stunning defeat until Youssef 'Obama' Ibrahim halved the deficit and Hamdy
levelled.
Ben Romdhane bagged a
first-half hat-trick as Esperance of Tunisia romped to a 4–0 Group C victory in
Rades over outclassed group debutants Jwaneng Galaxy from Botswana.
The winger completed his
treble within 32 minutes of the kick-off and there were no further goals until
Nigerian Kingsley Eduwo netted four minutes from time.
Hamdy was part of the
Egypt team beaten on penalties by Senegal in the Cup of Nations final last Sunday
while Tunisia lost to Burkina Faso the previous weekend in the quarter-finals.
Raja Casablanca edged
South African visitors AmaZulu 1–0 in Group B through a goal from 35-year-old captain
Mohsine Moutaouali.
Algerian outfit Entente
Setif also won 1-0 in the same section, away to Horoya of Guinea, through an
early second-half goal from Ahmed Kendouci in Conakry.
On Friday, there were wins
for Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa over Al-Hilal of Sudan in Group A and
Wydad Casablanca of Morocco against Sagrada Esperance of Angola in Group D.
Galaxy see stars
Etoile Sahel of Tunisia and
Chabab Belouizdad of
Algeria drew 0–0 in Group C in the only matchday 1 fixture
not to produce any goals.
Defending champions Al-Ahly
of Egypt, who are seeking a record third straight title, did not host Al-Merrikh
of Sudan due to
Club World Cup commitments in the UAE, where they came third.
In Cairo, goals from
Brazilian Gleison Moreira and Victor 'Vidinho' Nanque put Petro on course for a
huge upset before Zamalek recovered.
'Obama' scored with a low
shot into the corner on 57 minutes and Hamdy equalized with a close-range shot
that deflected off Augusto Carneiro and over Brazilian goalkeeper Wellington
Lima.
The result left both clubs
two points behind Wydad, who were far too strong for Sagrada and Achraf Dari,
captain Yahya Jabrane, from a penalty, and Congo Brazzaville-born Guy Mbenza
scored in a 3-0 win.
After a shock qualification
at the expense of Simba from Tanzania, Galaxy fell behind within a minute
against four-time champions Esperance as Ben Romdhane scored off a half volley.
After using his right foot
to break the deadlock, the Tunisian proved equally adept with his left to fire
past Ezekiel Morake from close range, and completed his hat-trick via a low,
side-footed shot.
AmaZulu, a Durban club
formed 90 years ago but competing in Africa for the first time this season,
held Raja for 66 minutes before Moutaouali struck the ball between the legs of goalkeeper
Veli Mothwa.
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