A poor African Champions League group stage home record returned to haunt title-holders ES Setif this weekend when they lost 2-1 against fellow Algerians USM Alger.
Setif were favoured to win the Group B matchday 1 clash on the strength of having won the premier African club competition a second time last year.
But USM, back in the mini-league last-eight phase after 11 years, must have sensed they had a chance given the continuous failures of Setif to exploit home advantage.
The “Black Eagles” lifted the trophy last season despite drawing all three home group games, and a previous appearance in 2010 yielded only one win, a draw and a defeat.
Setif did look the likelier scorers at Stade du 8 Mai until Alger snatched two goals within 13 minutes during the second half.
Mohammed Seguer broke the deadlock on the hour in eastern Algeria by heading in a Zineddine Ferhat cross.
Captain Nassereddine Khoualed doubled the lead by finishing off a free-kick.
Setif coach Kheireddine Madoui, who guided the club to African glory last year, reacted by introducing El Hedi Belameiri and Ilyes Korbiaa.
The double substitution worked with Setif laying siege to the Alger goalmouth and Korbiaa halved the deficit six minutes from time.
But 2003 Champions League semi-finalists Alger survived the onslaught and now host Al Merrikh of Sudan in a top-of-the-table July 10 fixture.
Striker Bakri Al Madina starred as Merrikh triumphed 2-0 against Algerian visitors MC El Eulma in Omdurman, across the Nile river from Khartoum.
Adel Naamane diverted a seemingly harmless Al Madina cross past goalkeeper Mohammed Ousserir and into his own net after just six minutes.
The early goal set the tone for the first half with the hosts executing the pre-match rallying cry of Franco-Italian coach Diego Garzitto to “attack, attack, attack”.
Ghanaian Francis Coffie and Nigerian Solomon Jabason were among the Merrikh attackers who came close to increasing the lead.
Al Madina was guilty of wasting chances, but atoned 11 minutes into the second half by scoring from close range after Coffie set him up.
A serious situation for Eulma worsened just past the hour when Naamane was sent off for a foul on Al Madina.
El Eulma, hoping to become only the second lower-division club after Setif in 1988 to win the Champions League, were denied a late goal when goalkeeper Salim Omar foiled Walid Derrardja.
Another Sudanese club, Al Hilal, are away to four-time champions TP Mazembe in DR Congo on Sunday when Group A kicks off.
The final matchday 1 fixture has Smouha of Egypt hosting Moghreb Tetouan of Morocco in Mediterranean city Alexandria.
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Tell-tale signs of burnout
- loss of confidence and appetite
- irritability and emotional outbursts
- sadness
- persistent physical ailments such as headaches, frequent infections and fatigue
- substance abuse, such as smoking or drinking more
- impaired judgement
- excessive and continuous worrying
- irregular sleep patterns
Tips to help overcome burnout
Acknowledge how you are feeling by listening to your warning signs. Set boundaries and learn to say ‘no’
Do activities that you want to do as well as things you have to do
Undertake at least 30 minutes of exercise per day. It releases an abundance of feel-good hormones
Find your form of relaxation and make time for it each day e.g. soothing music, reading or mindful meditation
Sleep and wake at the same time every day, even if your sleep pattern was disrupted. Without enough sleep condition such as stress, anxiety and depression can thrive.
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
Friday’s fixture
6.15pm: Al Wahda v Hatta
6.15pm: Al Dhafra v Ajman
9pm: Al Wasl v Baniyas
9pm: Fujairah v Sharjah
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Did you know?
Brunch has been around, is some form or another, for more than a century. The word was first mentioned in print in an 1895 edition of Hunter’s Weekly, after making the rounds among university students in Britain. The article, entitled Brunch: A Plea, argued the case for a later, more sociable weekend meal. “By eliminating the need to get up early on Sunday, brunch would make life brighter for Saturday night carousers. It would promote human happiness in other ways as well,” the piece read. “It is talk-compelling. It puts you in a good temper, it makes you satisfied with yourself and your fellow beings, it sweeps away the worries and cobwebs of the week.” More than 100 years later, author Guy Beringer’s words still ring true, especially in the UAE, where brunches are often used to mark special, sociable occasions.
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
'Joker'
Directed by: Todd Phillips
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix
Rating: Five out of five stars
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