Zimbabwe's Dynamos are off to a winning start in Group A

Zimbabwean club Dynamos made an exciting start in the group phase of the 2008 Champions League after beating Asec Mimosas 2-1 on Sunday.

And in the Cairo derby Egyptian giants Al Ahly beat their great rivals Zamalek by the same scoreline, so the pair are tied at the top of Group A.

Dynamos triumph

In Harare, striker Edward Sadomba overcame the grief of losing an elder sister to score twice to seal the victory.

Portia Sadomba died on Friday and her brother was a doubtful starter for the opening fixture, but he struck in the 4th and 73rd minutes to give his team the win at Rufaro Stadium.

"Whether to play was a very difficult decision for me and my family. I opted to start because I know how much this fixture meant to my sister and my country," explained Sadomba.

Jean-Paul Mangoua Kesse was on target for Asec 10 minutes before half-time.

Ahly beat rivals - again

Ahly's Flavio opened the scoring for the 5 times winners

Both sides have won the competition five times, but it is Ahly who have been dominant in recent years and that trend continues after an absorbing match.

Angolan striker Flavio gave Al Ahly the lead just before the half hour mark.

But Zamalek struck back 15 minutes into the second half through Gamal Hamza's dramatic strike to make it 1-1.

Parity did not last long, five minutes later Ahly were in the lead again thanks to Ahmed Hassan, and they held on to take the win.

Egypt captain Hassan was playing his first game for Ahly after moving from Belgian side Anderlecht, Zamalek had also been chasing the midfielder's signature.

Hassan had been the s

Coming next

Asec host Ahly in Abidjan and Dynamos face Zamalek in Cairo at the beginning of next month.

Group winners and runners-up advance to two-leg semi-finals and the final is also staged on a home-and-away basis.

The champions will pocket US$1m and also secure a place at the annual Fifa Club World Cup in Japan.