Egyptian giants Al-Ahly came from behind to defeat Uganda’s Kitara FC 2-1 away from home in the first-leg of their CAF Confederation Cup 2026/27 Second Preliminary Round tie on Saturday.
Second-half goals from Omar Al-Saai and substitute Ahmed Sayed ‘Zizo’ overturned a first-half lead given to Kitara by Gaddafi Wahab at the Hoima Stadium.
The victory gives Al-Ahly a narrow advantage ahead of the return leg in Cairo on October 25, when the two sides will compete for a place in the group stage.
Al-Ahly made an attacking start and came close to opening the scoring when Mounsef Bakar’s header struck the post.
Yassin Marei and Hussein El-Shahat also missed opportunities as the visitors continued to threaten the Ugandan defence.
However, Kitara took the lead against the run of play in the 30th minute when Wahab converted a cross, sending his effort beyond goalkeeper Mohamed El-Shenawy.
The hosts maintained their advantage until half-time despite further pressure from the Egyptian side.
Al-Ahly coach Hussein Ammouta responded with three substitutions after the break, introducing Zizo, Soufiane Benjedida and Tawfik Mohamed in an attempt to change the contest.
The changes helped spark a comeback, with Al-Saai restoring parity in the 67th minute after collecting Marwan Attia’s cross, beating a defender and firing past the Kitara goalkeeper.
Twelve minutes later, Al-Ahly completed the turnaround when Akram Tawfik was brought down inside the penalty area.
Zizo stepped forward to convert the resulting penalty in the 79th minute, putting the visitors ahead for the first time.
Kitara were unable to find an equaliser in the closing stages, leaving Al-Ahly in control of the tie ahead of the decisive return fixture at Cairo Stadium.
The Egyptian side will now seek to protect their advantage and secure qualification for the 16-team group stage, while Kitara must produce a positive result away from home to keep their continental campaign alive.
Arrows beat Chiefs
Zambia’s Red Arrows secured a narrow 1-0 home victory over South Africa’s Kaizer Chiefs in the first-leg of their CAF Confederation Cup 2026/27 Second Preliminary Round tie on Saturday.
Alassane Diarra scored the decisive goal in the 76th minute to give the Zambian side a valuable advantage, cafonline.com reported.
The breakthrough came when Diarra rose to head home a corner delivered by Ackim Mumba.
The goal proved enough to secure victory for the Airmen against their South African opponents.
The result puts Red Arrows in a favourable position ahead of the return leg, although Kaizer Chiefs remain firmly in contention.
The South African side will now need to overturn the one-goal deficit at home to keep their hopes of reaching the group stage alive.
