Egyptian side Ismaily made a poor start to their Arab Champions League campaign after slumping to a 3-1 away loss to Al-Khartoum of Sudan in the first leg of the competition's round 16 on Tuesday.  

The sole Egyptian representative took the lead at the stroke of halftime, thanks to a goal from John Antwi.

However, the hosts responded with three goals in the second half through Mohamed Abdel-Moneam (49), Ibrahim Salah (57), and Nader Khalifa (72) to claim a comfortable first-leg advantage.

"Our goal had a negative effect as the players had the impression that they won the game, which was not true," Ismaily's assistant coach Ashraf Khedr told the club's official website.

"We warned them during the break that the hosts will fight fiercely in the second half, but it was useless as they didn't follow the technical staff's instructions.

"The second leg will be a do or die clash as we have no other choice than victory. We will do our best to fully prepare for this crucial clash," he added.

The second leg will be played in Egypt in 2 December.    

The Arab Champions League has not been held since 2009 due to problems over sponsorship deals.

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