6 - 12 December 2001
Issue No.563
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 6 - 12 December 2001 Issue No.563 |
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Alone at the top
Now in first place in the league football standings, Zamalek is sitting pretty. Nashwa Abdel-Tawab reports on the club's latest victory
Defending champions Zamalek beat a feisty Qanah 3-1 in Cairo Stadium to take sole possession of first place in the league. Midfielder Hazem Imam scored an early equaliser, missed a penalty shot then sealed the victory over the team that last year pulled off a stunning upset when it ousted Zamalek from the cup in the quarter- finals..
Imam, in white, fights to get by Wael Gomaa of Ahli in last month's derby. The magical midfielder has become a key Zamalek player since returning to the club from Europe last year
photo: Mohamed Wassim
After 10 matches, Zamalek are now top of the standings with 26 points, three ahead of Ismaili who have a match in hand, against Ahli at home. Qanah remained on 10 points and in 10th place in the 14-team league.
Before flying to Johannesburg for their penultimate showdown with Sundowns in the final of the African Champions League, Ahli, beat Mansoura 2-0 to remain in third place with 16 points and two matches in hand.
Qanah went ahead when what had initially looked like the simplest of back passes turned into Zamalek's worst nightmare. Defender Wael El-Qabbani directed the ball to goalkeeper Abdel- Wahed El-Sayed but the pass was too nonchalant and eluded a flat-footed El- Sayed. Hassan Moussa couldn't believe his good fortune and pounced on the loose ball, kicking it into an empty net for an unlikely 1-0 Qanah lead.
Imam levelled the score before the break by what has become a trademark shot, low from outside the area, past Mustafa Kamal.
A controversial penalty decision gave Qanah a chance to take the lead again but Moussa, who minutes earlier was hero, now played villain when his shot thudded against the crossbar.
Before the half was over, a penalty, again controversial, was awarded to Zamalek whose Imam, in an uncanny carbon copy of what had transpired just minutes earlier at the other end of the field, also had his shot carom off the crossbar.
It was not until the 86th minute that Zamalek substitute Walid Abdel-Latif fired in a header from close range to break the tie. Imam added an insurance goal in the injury time by scoring from a solo run from midfield, his fifth goal in the league.
"We really have had fatal problems with the defence and penalty kicks in the last three games," said Zamalek's German coach Otto Pfister after the match, "and we should correct them. But it was also important for us to clinch the three points of the game which we did." Striker Hossam Hassan wasted three penalties in the first eight games before being relieved. But as was witnessed against Qanah, his replacement, Imam, did not fare much better from the spot.
Hassan is league scorer with eight goals and a total of 124 for a league record. The 35-year-old says he still enjoys the game and would like nothing better than to be named to the squad that goes to Mali next month for the African Cup of Nations. An injury will prevent him from playing against Baladiat Mehalla next week. Abdel-Latif will also not play after getting a yellow card against Qanah.
Other games in the same week saw Goldi and Ghazl Suez playing to a 1- 1 tie at Fayoum. Sohag and Ghazl Suez tied 2-2 in Sohag. Ittihad of Alexandria beat Mehalla 1-0 in Mehalla from a penalty kick in injury time to raise their points total to 10. Mehalla stayed at 13. Tersana won their third match in a row when they downed Misri 3-0 to jump to fourth place in the standings with 15 points. Misri, despite a new coach at the helm, stayed where they are at nine points.
The 10th week of the league saw three wins, two draws, three penalty kicks -- two went wide -- and 14 goals.
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