Email
Print
Digg ThisTRIPOLI, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Defending champions Al Ahli of Egypt set themselves up for a third successive African Champions League final appearance with a goalless draw at Al Ittihad of Libya in the first leg of their semi-final tie.
The Cairo giants, seeking to win the continent's top title for an unprecedented third year in a row, have a major advantage going into the second leg in the Egyptian capital in two weeks.
But they were almost caught five minutes into Sunday's first leg when Walid Mhadeb broke clear and beat the advancing Al Ahli goalkeeper Essam Al Hadari with a shot, only for the ball to stick on the wet surface and allow Ahmed El Sayed to clear it.
It was the closest the Libyans, surprise semi-finalists, came to scoring.
Al Ahli might have snatched a valuable away win in the last 12 minutes when they had two chances, both provided by mistakes from Al Ittihad's goalkeeper Samir Aboud.
Striker Flavio hit his shot wide and Mohamed Barakat had a shot cleared off the line.
The second leg is in Cairo on Oct. 7.
Al Hilal of Sudan beat Tunisia's Etoile Sahel 2-1 in the first leg of their semi-final in Omdurman on Friday. They play again on Oct. 6.
