4 -10 April 2002
Issue No.580
|
Al-Ahram Weekly Online 4 -10 April 2002 Issue No.580 |
||
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Current issue | Previous issue | Site map | ||
Night of reversal
Ismaili and Zamalek traded places at the top of the football table, reports Alaa Shahine
Ismaili flattened Zamalek 4-3 to jump to the top of the Egyptian football league table while a last-gap goal by Ahli against Mansoura kept their title hopes alive.
Referee Nasser Abbas is escorted by riot police in Mansoura after disallowing what supporters thought was a penalty against Ahli
With 10 matches remaining, the race for the title is ultra-close and exclusively three- way. Ismaili lead the standings with 40 points, one ahead of Zamalek. Ahli's win gave them 35 points with one game in hand.
While the scoreline indicated a tight game in Cairo Stadium on Saturday, Ismaili was ahead 3-0 by the half, led 4-1 in the second and gave up Zamalek's third goal in injury time. It was Ismaili's game for the taking from the start as the defending champions were out of sorts and fell to their first defeat of the season.
Abdel-Hamid Bassyouni, an ex-Zamalek striker, returned to haunt his former club, moving things for the visitors 13 minutes into the game following Mohamed Barakat's deep penetration. The talented midfielder walked into the area virtually unopposed after a probing left-side run before squaring to Bassyouni who struck home with ease.
Before Zamalek could settle down, the visitors struck twice more. A spectacular long- range effort by Mohamed Abdallah found its way into the back of the net. It became 3-0 before the interval when Barakat, an international who is currently rumoured to be linking up with Ahli, outran three Zamalek defenders on an 80-yard dash before beautifully chipping past goalkeeper Abdel-Wahed El- Sayed.
Zamalek narrowed the gap five minutes after the break when the ball slipped from Mohamed Sobhi's hands to find Felix standing in the right place. But the match swung again in the visitors' favour in the 60th minute when Barakat made a solo run from the midfield circle -- again unmolested -- to set Bassyouni up for a shot that thudded against the crossbar before settling into the net.
Two spot kicks by Hazim Imam cut Ismaili's lead to one goal, but the visitors, now the only unbeaten side in the league, kept their composure till the end.
In Mansoura, a last-gasp header by Alaa Ibrahim kept alive Ahli's hopes of taking the league title after a hard-fought 1-0 victory over their relegation-threatened hosts. The marksman was kept on the bench in the first half and replaced Reda Shehata after the break to score the crucial goal in injury time.
Questionable decisions by the referees added controversy to both games. Mansoura should have been awarded a clear penalty seconds before Ibrahim's winner while a goal by Felix against Ismaili was inexplicably ruled out. The decisions once again threw into doubt the competence of the league's officiating which has become a regular staple in newspapers and TV talk shows.
In other matches, Tersana tightened their grip on fourth place with a 3-1 home victory over bottom of the table Sohag. Ayman Khalil was on target twice while Mohamed Abu Trieka sealed the visitors' fate with a spectacular left-foot injury-time shot.
Baladia thrashed Ghazl Al-Suez 5-1, Goldi triumphed 2-1 over Mehalla, Qanah edged Ittihad 1-0 and Misri beat the Arab Contractors, also 1-0.
© Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved
 |
|
|||||||||||||||||
| ARCHIVES Letter from the Editor Editorial Board Subscription Advertise! |
WEEKLY ONLINE: www.ahram.org.eg/weekly Updated every Saturday at 11.00 GMT, 2pm local time weeklyweb@ahram.org.eg |
 Al-Ahram Organisation |
Recommend this page