The boys done good

By Eman Abdel-Moeti

The circumstances were not, on the face of it, all that bad. The first leg in Ethiopia had ended scoreless. But Egypt's home advantage in the second leg was counterbalanced by the loss of six players from the first game through suspension. The Egyptian Football Federation had banned the players from participating in the tie after Ahli Club's manager refused to send them to a two-month training camp prior to the match. Their absence was a blow to their national teammates.

But Ali and Shawki Gharib, the technical coach, built up the players' confidence and talents. "They knew this was a crucial match and they had to focus on beating Ethiopia regardless of who was in or out of the team," said Ali.

The match in Port Said drew a crowd of 30,000 enthusiastic spectators who seemed to will the team to victory. "I believe our victory is attributable to the Port Said fans. They gave the team a great morale boost," said Ali. As a result, he is seriously considering Port Said as a venue for the home leg of Egypt's next tie against Zambia, scheduled for 27 September.

If Egypt overcomes Zambia, they will book one of the eight available places at the finals of the African Nations Cup to be held in Ghana in 1999. The top four from Ghana will go on to play in the World Juniors Cup which will be hosted by Nigeria and is also scheduled for 1999.

In what was a hotly contested yet sporting match, the Ethiopians relied on counterattacking raids as the hosts launched their offensive down the wings. Sadly, the teams' energy was not matched by accuracy and most attempts on goal did little to worry either goalkeeper. After 14 minutes, however, the deadlock was broken when a counterattacking run down the wing produced an inch-perfect cross which was headed past the outstretched right hand of the Egyptian goalkeeper by the Ethiopian No. 10, Sifu. In the 25th minute, Egypt's Rami Adel levelled the score with a penalty.

The second and decisive goal came in the 13th minute of the second half when Mohamed Adel finished a move that had seen him evade one tackle after another on the edge of the Ethiopian box by drilling a low, angled shot to the right of the Ethiopian keeper.

This was a blessed escape for the Egyptians and Ali expressed his hopes that future matches would take place in an atmosphere more conducive to success: "I hope we won't face any more trouble from other local clubs before the Egypt-Zambia match. We want to win the African Cup so let us concentrate on doing just that."