• NKANA striker Ronald Kampamba (Centre) shoots the ball under pressure from Al Ahly defender Saad Samir during the Orange CAF Confederation Cup group B match at Nkana Stadium in Kitwe yesterday. Picture by KALUMIANA KALUMIANA

By KALUMIANA KALUMIANA  At Nkana Stadium –
Nkana 1 Al Ahly 0
NKANA beat Al Ahly yesterday to get a deserved and belated revenge over their long-time Egyptian nemesis to move closer to securing a CAF Confederation Cup semi final place after this Group B match played in Kitwe.
The victory was even sweeter for Nkana who had suffered a 2-nil first leg loss to Al Ahly on May 17 in Cairo that handed the Kitwe side a painful start to their group stage debut.
Nkana’s two wins on the trot in Group B sees them shoot to seven points, one behind slayed Al Ahly who continue to lead the competition heading into the final games on August 23.
However, the first half was a dull affair with Al Ahly dominating the opening 45 minutes.
Amr Sayed almost put Al Ahly ahead in the 2nd minute when he slipped by Christopher Munthali but sent his shot wide of Nkana’s goalmouth.
Rabson Muchelenganga then denied Mohamed Alwakee from point blank range in the seventh minute.
Nkana had two good attempts before the break with the first coming in the 19th minute from striker Ronald ‘Sate Sate’ Kampamba who sent his shot high and over after a fine chipped pass from Festus Mbewe.
Kampamba had another attempt in the 33rd minute go begging when he slipped through Al Ahly’s defence but miscued his soft shot that rolled out for touch.
The deadlock was broken in the 50th minute when Noel Phiri was tackled by Samr Saad and referee Bernard Camrille of the Seychelles pointed to the spot.
Defender Billy Mwanza then stepped up to beat Egypt international goalkeeper Sherif Ekramy with the resultant spot kick.
The goal lifted Nkana’s spirits but they found an inspired Ekramy difficult to beat as he was called upon twice to deny Kampamba and Claude Bwalya in the 70th and 75th minutes respectively.
Meanwhile, the final complexion in Group B at the end of the penultimate day of action was being decided by press time in Sousse where hosts Etoile du Sahel of Tunisia were in action against Sewe Sport of Cote d’Ivoire.
Etoile were on five points heading into last night’s match while Sewe, who host Nkana in their final Group B match on August 24 in Abidjan, had three points.

Team          P       W       D       L        GF     GA     -/+    Pts
Al Ahly        5        2        2        1        5        3       2       8
Nkana         5        2        1        2        9        10      -1       7
ES Sahel     4        1        2        1        9        9         0        5
Sewe Sport 4        0        3        1        3        4        -1       3