JOHANNESBURG (AFP) - A weekend of draws in the African Champions League ended dramatically with Wydad Casablanca of Morocco scoring one minute from full-time to force a 3-3 deadlock against Al-Ahly of Egypt in an empty Cairo stadium.
Mouloudia Alger of Algeria were held 1-1 by Esperance of Tunisia in the other Group B game as the six-round group phase of the premier Pan-African club competition kicked off with eight teams chasing top-two finishes and semi-finals slots.
A goalless stalemate between Raja Casablanca of Morocco and Cotonsport Garoua of Cameroon in Group A was followed by a far more exciting 2-2 draw between Enyimba of Nigeria and Al-Hilal of Sudan.
It was the first time since the African Champions League was revamped 14 years ago that all four opening-round games were drawn and the results suggest fierce mini-league competition in the hunt for the 1.5-million-dollar first prize.
Crowd trouble in a qualifier against ZESCO United of Zambia forced record six-time champions Ahly to play behind closed doors and the North African showdown was moved from an unavailable Cairo Stadium to the much smaller Military Academy Stadium.
Millions of Egyptians watching the highlight of the weekend schedule on TV saw Ahly fall behind in less than a minute as Sherif Abdul-Fadil conceded an own goal by misjudging a cross.
Experienced goal poacher Emad Moteab quickly levelled after being set up by fellow striker Dominique da Silva and long-serving defender Wael Gomaa converted a penalty midway through the first half to give Ahly a 2-1 half-time advantage.
Mouhssine Iajour raised his goal tally in the competition this year to four with an equaliser just past the hour mark as the traditionally stingy Ahly defenders were caught napping again.
Mauritanian Da Silva nudged the Cairo 'Red Devils' back in front with 14 minutes left after running on to a pass from former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Hossam Ghaly, rounding goalkeeper Nadir Lamyaghri and stroking the ball into an unguarded net.
Portuguese coach Manuel Jose, mastermind behind four of the six African Champions League titles won by Ahly, replaced Da Silva with Moataz Eno soon after to bolster his midfield and keep 1992 title holders Wydad at bay.
But more comical Egyptian defending from sweeper Abdul-Fadil allowed Iajour to score again as his shot took a deflection before flying over goalkeepr Ahmed Adel into the net.
Jose, who returned to Cairo this year for a third spell in charge, blamed fatigue induced by the recently ended national championship and bad luck for the failure to secure maximum points.
Recently appointed Swiss Michel Decastel, once coach of bitter Ahly domestic rivals Zamalek, said Wydad were the better team despite preparations being hampered by a close-season lack of competitive match practice.
Wydad host Mouloudia and Ahly visit 2010 runners-up Esperance at the end of July while Hilal and Cotonsport have home advantage over Raja and Enyimba respectively in the other pool.
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