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Al-Ahram Weekly 18 - 24 February 1999 Issue No. 417 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 18 - 24 February 1999 Issue No. 417
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Special Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters All sewn up?
By Eman Abdel-MoetiAhli took a giant step toward its sixth consecutive football league crown when it beat Ittihad 1-0 in Alexandria. The victory gave Ahli 55 points, nine more than second-place Zamalek, which could only manage a goalless draw with Baladiyet Mehalla.
The lone goal was scored in the second half by Ahmed Abdel-Moneim, who has spent most of the season warming up the substitute's bench. But Abdel-Moneim, known better as Ahmed Koshari, broke the draw and an offside trap in the 73rd minute, tucking the ball to the left of Essam Abdel-Azim, who had charged out of his goal to try to cut the angle. Two Ittihad players were shown the red card in the second half, making victory or even a draw in front of their home fans almost impossible.
Zamalek's Bashir El-Tabei' trying to penetrate Baladiyet Mehella's defence photo: Medhat Abdel-Meguid
Ittihad's long-ball approach proved somewhat dangerous in the first half. Only some well-timed saves and sorties out of goal by Essam El-Hadari prevented opportunities to score by Ittihad's trio of Essam Rafie, Essam Abdel-Ghani and Hani Ahmed. Abdel-Azim also proved a hard nut to crack, as the league's top goalscorer Hossam Hassan found out often enough. Hassan, who has scored 14 goals this season, was shadowed by Abdel-Ghani throughout the match. When, on the rare occasion he did manage to elude his marker, the shot went either wide or was saved.
Ahli's experience began to pay off in the second half as its attack, spearheaded by Yasser Ryan on the right wing, pressed for the winner. Following the goal, Abdel-Ghani and Ahmed were sent off for rough play, giving Ahli a commanding two-man advantage which failed to produce more goals.
The loss left Ittihad with 22 points and in eighth place. Besides stretching its lead, the win also gave Ahli some measure of revenge following its 1-0 loss to Ittihad in the 32nd round of the cup.
In Cairo, Zamalek and Baladiyet Mehalla gave 2,500 spectators a lesson in how not to play inspiring football. The game was played at a snail's pace and most of the players of both teams spent the 90 minutes in mid-field attempting to launch attacks down field. The one moment of drama came when Baladiyet should have been awarded a penalty after defender Hossam Abdel-Moneim clearly handled the ball but referee Sayed El-Azab waved play on.
The draw, which has nearly ended Zamalek's hopes of catching up with Ahli, led to inevitable calls for new coach Farouk Gaafar to resign. Gaafar, who replaced Dutch trainer Ruud Kroll two months ago, has led the team to the semi-finals of the cup, but came too late to make up the difference in points in the league standings. Following the match, Gaafar laid the blame for the draw and lacklustre performance on his team's failure to obey his instructions and interpret his tactics on the field. Meanwhile, Baladiyet coach Mohamed Kishk said he was happy his team had drawn with a much stronger club like Zamalek. The point which Baladiyet gained, however, may not prove enough to save the cellar-dwellers, who have only 18 points, from relegation next season.
In other scores, Qanah beat Sharqiya 1-0, Koroum and Mansoura drew 0-0, Arab Contractors and Spinning Mehalla also played to a goalless draw and Dina and Misri tied 1-1. Aswan, in 13th place, created the week's biggest upset when it defeated Ismaili, fourth in the league with 31 points, 3-2. .
