Caf Champions League and Confederation Cup soccer review

By Fred Maingi in Nairobi

Esperance of Tunisia made  full use of their homeground  by defeating the well drilled Sunshine Stars  from  Nigeria with a solitary goal in the Orange CAF Champions League tie.   The result puts the Tunisia  side  on top of group A thus extending their unbeaten run to 19. Esperance are seeking a second successive African title after overcoming Wydad Casablanca of Morocco in the final last year.     The goal that literally brought the roof down came in the 37th minute through an  own goal by Jude Ebitogwa. Esperance have nine points with an away fixture against pointless bottom side ASO Chlef of Algeria to come in mid-September while Sunshine finished with six points.     However, it was not all rosy for Etoile Sahel of Tunisia who  were disqualified by the Confederation of African Football last Monday .Their supporters twice invaded the pitch in a home game against Esperance, and their previous results were cancelled.    Esperance face the Group B runners-up in the semi-finals and Sunshine the Group B winners with TP Mazembe from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Al Ahly of Egypt assured of qualifying, but first place is up for grabs.  Mazembe can remain top of the table by winning at Berekum Chelsea of Ghana while any other result in Accra would allow Ahly to finish first if they defeat Zamalek in a Cairo derby. TP Mazembe from the Democratic Republic of Congo made headlines after defeating Al Ahly of Egypt  2-0 at  southern mining city Lubumbashi .The result ensured them a semi final berth. Scorers  for Mazembe were Tanzanian –born  Mbwana Samata on 30th minute and Mukok Kanda in the 60th minute. The win also avenged a 2-1 loss to Ahly in Cairo. Mazembe and Ahly have 10 points with one round to go in Group B and if the Congolese can match the Egyptians' result on match day 6 they will win the mini-league on the head-to-head rule.    Egyptian glamour team Zamalek played  to a 1-1 draw with their Ghanaian visitors Berekum Chelsea at the Cairo Military Academy Stadium on Saturday night in a Group B match Day 5 fixture of the 2012 Orange CAF Champions League. The draw gave Zamalek their first point in the group  while Berekum Chelsea raised their tally to 6 points. By holding the Ghanaians to a draw Zamalek have done their Cairo rivals  Ahly a huge favour. The result  guaranteed Ahly a semi final spot as they lead the group with 10 points before their weekend game against Mazembe.   Mohamed Ibrahim gave Zamalek the match opener after 13 minutes before Amado Nafiu leveled for Chelsea.     The game marked the return of Egyptian fans in the stands for the first time in seven months. Football matches in Egypt since last February when 74 fans fell dead after riots in Port Said have been played behind closed doors.    The draw,ironically gifted their rivals Al Ahly their semi final ticket before they face TP Mazembe on Sunday in Lubumbashi. The winner will pocket a whooping $1.5 million first prize and a passport to the 2012 FIFA Club World Cup in Japan. Victory for Mazembe eliminated surprise qualifiers Berekum Chelsea of Ghana from the title race after they managed only a 1-1 draw away to Zamalek of Egypt, who are doomed to finished bottom of the table.      Elsewhere, Kelechi Osunwa and  Ahmed Al Basha scored two second half goals to enable Al-Merreikh to defeat fellow Sudanese side Al-Ahly Shandy on match day  3 of group A  in 2012 Orange CAF Confederation Cup. Osunwa scored a 56th minute opener after combining well  with Mosab Omar. Ahmed Al Basha wrapped up the three points with a late second goal.    Merreikh have seven points, Hilal five, Ahly three and InterClube of Angola one point after settling to a  1-1 draw with. The second-tier Confederation Cup is contested by third place national league finishers, national cup winners and eight clubs demoted from the CAF Champions League after the final qualifying round, including Merreikh and Hilal. Meanwhile a  Kenyan has been appointed to officiate CAF International match. Mohammed Omar Abubakar has been appointed the match commissioner of Africa U-17 qualifier between Sudan and Somali scheduled for Khartourn on 21’ST September, 2012.     According to the  fixture released by Confederation of African Football(CAF), Aden Abdi Djamal  will be the center referee while Egueh Yacin Hassan and Mahmoud Illtireh Abdillahi all from Djibout will be the first and second assistant referees respectively . Sudanese  Adan Ahmed will be the fourth official. The match is significant because it shall be played one leg only due to the current insecurity in the Al-Shabab infested Somali. Which is why CAF chose highly competent match officials. Normally CAF matches are played on home and away basis.     This is the second time Mohammed Omar Abubakar has been appointed this year as a match commissioner in CAF international match. On July 28'th, 2012 the veteran sports administrator was appointed match commissioner in Africa Youth Qualifier  between South Africa and Congo Brazaville played in Brazaville.