7 - 13 March 2002
Issue No.576
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 7 - 13 March 2002 Issue No.576 |
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Back in business
The football league is back in full force. Nashwa Abdel-Tawab reviews the return
Following a nearly two-month hiatus, the league's second round began with Zamalek firmly in first place.
Ibrahim Hassan (left) clears the ball against Goldi photo: Amr Gamal
The defending champions, out of action along with the rest of the league because of the African Nations Cup, beat a stubborn Goldi 2-1 to increase their points total to 36, two points ahead of second-place Ismaili and four more than Ahli, which remained in third.
Hazim Imam put Zamalek in the lead in the ninth minute after his shot from left was deflected off defender Mohamed Abul-Dahab.
Goldi refused to fold and, in fact, pieced together several decent chances to level.
In the second half Zamalek's Ahmed Felix was pulled down by Abul-Dahab -- who had a miserable night -- in the area. Top league poacher Hossam Hassan notched the ensuing penalty, his 12th goal of the season.
Zamalek then conceded an own goal after Abul-Enein Shehata's cross was headed in by defender Wael El-Qabani.
"We made fatal mistakes on defence," Zamalek's German manager Otto Pfister said after the match. "We must correct them but it was important for us to clinch the three points, which we did."
Ismaili, which shared first place with Zamalek for three consecutive weeks, slipped after tying 1-1 with Tersana in Cairo. Mohamed Omar's goal in the 60th minute secured the point for the home side after Attiya Saber's free kick had given Ismaili the lead one minute before the half.
The visitors were the better side and had two certain chances to take the lead through Mohamed Barakat and Mohamed Mohsen Abu Gresha but it just was not Ismaili's day.
Ghazl Al-Suez, 10th in the league, kept Ahli at bay until late goals gave Ahli a 2-0 win. In the 80th minute Alaa Ibrahim, out for several weeks, scored from a melee in front of the goal-mouth. Five minutes later, Ibrahim Saeed converted a penalty, sealing Al-Suez's fate. Al-Suez had ousted Ahli from the cup and beat the club on the first day of the season
Ahli's coach Manuel Jose, beefed up the attack this time, giving Ibrahim, Reda Shehata and Ali Maher more playing time.
Jose said the referee's decision not to award Ahli a penalty in the first half, when Sayed Abdel-Hafeez was roughly shouldered out of play, had affected his team's performance dramatically but was pleased with the pressure the club put on in the second half. He added that Ahli would need to win all their remaining fixtures -- an extremely difficult proposition -- in order to reclaim the title they lost last year.
In other matches, Baladiyet Al-Mehalla put away bottom of the table Sohag 1-0. Sohag rests at the bottom with eight points while Baladiyet is in seventh with 17 points.
Ittihad and Mansoura drew 1-1 in Mansura. The tie gave Ittihad 18 points and Mansoura 11.
The Arab Contractors and Qanah also drew 1- 1, reflecting how close the teams are. Qanah has 14 points and the Contractors 15.
In an early rehearsal for upcoming African championship matches, Ghazl Al-Mehalla and Misri drew 2-2. Ghazl Al-Mehalla rose to 18 points while Misri crept up to 10 points.
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