Six-time winners Al Ahly of Egypt were held to a thrilling 3-3 draw by Nigeria's Sunshine Stars in their Orange CAF African Champions League semi-final first leg clash in Ijebu-Ode. Both teams created numerous chances and but for some good goalkeeping and the crossbar, more goals would have been recorded inside a half-filled Dipo Dina International Stadium. Sunshine skipper Godfrey Oboabona was suspended after he received his second booking in the last group game at Esperance of Tunisia, while Mohamed Aboutrika is serving a two-month suspension imposed by Ahly. Ahly opened scoring in the 18th minute through striker Mohamed Nagy, whose shot from outside the box beat Moses Ocheje in goal. Mahdy El Sayed doubled Ahly's lead on the half hour when he squeezed the ball home from a very tight angle. On 40 minutes, Sunshine halved the deficit when Cameroon midfielder Tamen Medrano curled a shot from the edge of the box beyond Ahly goalkeeper Sherif Elkramy. The home team restored parity in the 73rd minute from the penalty spot through Dele Olorundare after a goal-bound Ajani Ibrahim was upended by Mohamed Nagy. However, the Red Devils from Cairo restored their lead a minute later when 25-year-old Nagy scored his second. Sunshine defender Precious Osasco ensured the spoils were shared in this encounter when in the 83rd minute he fired a free kick past Elkramy. Nagy had a chance to complete his hat-trick three minutes from full time but his header off a corner went wide off target. The second leg will be played in a fortnight in Cairo behind closed doors with the overall winners taking on either defending champions Esperance or TP Mazembe from DR Congo in the final.