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Al-Ahram Weekly 9 - 15 December 1999 Issue No. 459 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 9 - 15 December 1999 Issue No. 459
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Debate Features Profile Living Travel Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters For a change
Perennial also-rans Zamalek beat the defending champions Ahli 2-1 in one of the better matches these two giant cross-town rivals have produced in many a year.It was Ahli's first defeat of the season following eight consecutive victories and the first time the club has lost in 46 games. The last time Ahli found itself in the loss column dates back to March 1998 when they lost 2-0 to Aswan. It was also the first time Zamalek had come out on top in the classic clash since 1994. The victory was all the more remarkable given Zamalek's spate of recent poor showings that forced three coaching changes in four days, culminating in the arrival just last week of German manager Otto Pfister.
Despite the loss in this, the 13th week of the Click-sponsored season, Ahli still retained its top ranking with 24 points, one ahead of Zamalek. Ahli still has three games in hand because of previous Arab and African club championship commitments.
But with the team hot on Ahli's heels, Zamalek sounded a warning that this season will be different from the previous six in which it has ended up as bridesmaids. The turning point in the season could well be this match, which most critics agreed was one of the best in years, a refreshing change from the tension-charged meetings in which frayed nerves had usually gotten the better of the players. It was certainly a big improvement over the last time they met, when Zamalek walked off the pitch just five minutes into the match to protest against a send-off.
In Sunday night's head-to-head encounter in an almost full house at Cairo Stadium, Zamalek opened the scoring in the 33rd minute when defender Besheer El-Tabie rose high in the penalty area to knock in a header, crossed over by a rejuvenated Khaled El-Ghandour. By and large, Zamalek dominated the first half and could have added to the scoresheet, courtesy of a massive blunder by defender Ahmed Abdel-Zaher which left Ayman Abdel-Aziz all alone on goal, but the shot went wide. The team's strict man-to-man marking, especially in midfield, prevented Ahli's key players from advancing freely ahead.
Striker Alaa Ibrahim levelled the score in the 50th minute after striking a brilliant volley on the fly. The ever-dangerous Ismail Kolebaly, a Mali import who had hardly touched a ball this season due to a contractual dispute, put Zamalek ahead to stay in the 63rd minute when his free kick deflected off Hossam Hassan and wrong-footed goalkeeper Essam El-Hadery. Ahli's attacks were thereafter stymied by Zamalek's rock-solid defence and goalkeeper Abdel-Wahid El-Sayed, who managed to hold on to a close-range shot by Hassan in the dying seconds .
"The team deserved the victory and the players dominated most of the match and would have scored much more if they had made use of the many opportunities they had," Pfister said. His counterpart and compatriot, Reiner Tsobil of Ahli, admitted that Zamalek was the better team. Tsobil blamed himself for the defeat because, the way he saw it, he should have played with one more defender. "The loss concerns me," Tsobil said. "I will have to reconsider many things in the coming period."
Midfield generals Sayed Abdel-Hafeez and Khaled El-Ghandour battle it out on the pitch
photo: Mohamed Wassim
Danish referee Kim Nilsen, brought in especially from abroad as is the normal practice in these ultra-sensitive encounters, and who handled a Zamalek-Ahli league match last year, had little trouble in guiding the game to a successful conclusion. He flashed the yellow card for minor offenses to Zamalek's Abdel-Wahid El-Sayed, Besheer El-Tabie and Tarek El-Said.
The match was the 84th clash between Ahli and Zamalek since the league was founded in 1948.
In other results in the same week that did not have the same advance hype included Ismaili blasting Suez 3-0 in the last 14 minutes. Canal beat Sharqiya by the same score. Noteworthy is that Sharqiya had defeated Zamalek 1-0 two weeks earlier. Both Ittihad and Mansoura snatched two hard-fought 1-0 and 2-1 victories over Dina and Aluminum respectively. Arab Contractors drew 1-1 with Kouroum. Misri and Maadin also tied 1-1.
The league standings show Ahli on top with 24 points, followed by Zamalek on 23, Ittihad 19 and Ismaili 17.
