Ismaily claimed easy victory over Sofapaka in the first leg
Ismaily and Harras El-Hodoud are expected to seal smooth passage to the African Confederation Cup round of 16 when they face Kenya’s Sofapaka and Ethiopia’s Dedebit respectively away from home.
El-Hodoud thrashed Dedebit 4-0 while Ismaily claimed an easy 2-0 victory over Sofapaka at home in the first leg of the competition’s round of 32.
Although Ismaily look firm favorites to preserve their first-leg advantage and qualify for the next round, Sofapaka coach Ezekiel Akwana said he was confident his side would overturn the deficit.
“We will definitely overturn that loss. It is not a big score and we know we can do it because of how we played against them in the first leg,” he said in an interview with CAFonline.com.
“Despite the win, we put them under a lot of pressure and they used dirty tactics to slow down the game. This time we are at home and such tactics will not work,” he added without elaboration.
Ismaily haven’t won any African title since their 1969 Champions League triumph. They finished as runners up in the CAF Cup, the old version of the Confederation Cup, in 2000 and lost to Nigeria’s Enyimba in the Champions League final three years later.
El-Hodoud should enjoy a walk in the park when they meet Dedebit despite missing long-term absentees and influential duo Ahmed Eid and Islam El-Shater.
The military club are looking to end their jinx in Africa’s secondary club competition, having been eliminated from the group stage during the past three seasons.
“We are taking nothing for granted despite our first-leg victory,” El-Hodoud coach Tarek El-Ashri said.
“We haven’t qualified yet. We have to be cautious to make sure there would be no surprises.”
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