Issue No. 612
Sports
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14 - 20 November 2002 Issue No. 612 Sports |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Recommend this page | ||
Together no longer
For the first six weeks of the season, Ahli and Zamalek were in a dead heat. That is no longer the case, writes Abeer Anwar
Finally, one of them broke free. Ahli's 1-0 win against Ismaili on Friday allowed the club to move ahead of Zamalek to take sole possession of first place in the premiership. After seven games and after having collected the maximum 21 points, Ahli are now three points clear of Zamalek, which dropped to second place after being upset by league debutantes, Alexandria's Coast Guards.
Ahli also widened their lead over defending champions Ismaili to a stunning 10 points, coming as it is so early in the season.
On Friday night in Cairo, play between Ahli and Ismaili was relegated to the midfield most of the time. The match was a far cry from the last encounter of the two teams, the highly dramatic and impressive 4-4 result last season which helped Ismaili to capture their first league trophy in a decade.
Hampering Ismaili's efforts last week was the absence of key defenders Emad El-Nahhas and Amr Fahim, not to mention Mohamed Barakat, voted last year's best player. The club is still feeling its way following the loss of the star midfielder who was sold to Ahli Jeddah of Saudi Arabia during the off-season.
In addition, the players are still in the process of getting acquainted with the tactics of their fourth coach in as many months, Maximovich of Yugoslavia.
Ahli, too, were missing league scoring champion thus far Ahmed Bilal, who picked up his second booking last week. Dutch coach Jo Bonfrere has few strikers of the calibre of Bilal, who has eight goals, and Khaled Bibo, out for a month with a pulled hamstring.
Midfielder Hossam Ghali was summoned to play the unfamiliar role of striker. Ghali struggled for much of the game but scored the lone goal in the 72nd minute after collecting a loose ball and threading a low shot to the right of goal. The ball had fallen favourably to Ghali after substitute Mohamed Farouk was brought down close to the box. Referee Rida Beltagui did well not to stop play and to give Ghali the advantage rule.
Ismaili could have tied the match in the dying seconds when a cross was headed straight to the legs of their captain Mohamed Salah Abu Greisha who needed only to beat goalkeeper Essam El-Hadari. El-Hadari rushed out of goal to block the last-gasp attempt and preserve Ahli's first win against Ismaili in four years.
Although Bilal will return, Ahli will face Misri in Port Said next week without the services of El-Hadari and defenders Mohamed Amara and Shadi Mohamed. All three picked up yellow cards on Friday.
Just a week before their crucial return leg clash against TP Mazembe in the CAF Champions League, Zamalek went down 2-1 in a shock loss in Alexandria to the newly promoted team, the Coast Guards.
It was undoubtedly the biggest upset of the season for it meant the first loss for Zamalek following a perfect record. It was also the first time Zamalek had been scored upon after six games of whitewashing the opponent.
El-Hassan Mohamed, who wore a Zamalek jersey up until last year, came back to haunt his old club when he gave the Coast Guards an early lead after a cross found him in the right spot, virtually on the goal line, in the 15 minute.
Zamalek's 36-year-old Hossam Hassan levelled in the 22nd minute after combining with twin Ibrahim in a set pattern produced countless times over the years. Hossam eluded his marker and Ibrahim's pass found his brother in scoring position.
Zamalek's Wa'el Qabbani lost a golden opportunity to put his team ahead when his penalty shot banged off the left post in the 26th minute of the second half. The spot kick was given after Hossam was adjudged by referee Ahmed Ouda to have been tripped up.
The killer blow was inflicted by Ahmed Khalaf in extra time. As Zamalek pressed ahead for the winner, they left their rear guard susceptible. Ramadan Ragab led a fast counter attack and Khalaf took full advantage, burying the ball to the left of a helpless Mohamed Abdel-Monsif.
Both goalkeepers were kept busy but the Coast Guards' Essam Abdel-Azim was especially difficult to beat. His most notable moment was parrying two close-range shots early in the first half. Abdel-Monsif was called on to save beautifully from Ikrami Ibrahim.
The win gave the ninth-place Coast Guards, who have the most draws this season with four, 10 points, an extraordinary total for the newcomers. The victory was particularly sweet for manager Helmi Tolan, Zamalek's assistant coach last year. Tolan's departure from the squad was acrimonious after Zamalek failed to repeat as champions.
Zamalek remained stuck at 15 points with a game in hand against Enpi. The loss could not have helped boost morale in the run-up to this week's semi-final return match in Cairo in the African Champions League against Mazembe. The first leg ended 1-1.
Another surprise came from another new kid on the block as the oil company club, Enpi, hammered Tersana 5-1. The win pushed Enpi up to 11 points while Tersana stayed put with eight. On television, Tersana coach Hamalawi said afterwards that the club was welcome to find a new coach. Following the trouncing, the management will probably do just that.
In other games, Goldi managed to win their first game of the season, edging Ittihad of Alexandria 1-0. The match's only goal was courtesy of Nabil Abu Zeid in the 13th minute from a penalty kick. Ittihad, with new German manager Reiner Tsoebel, formerly at the helm of Ahli, failed to add to their meagre total of two points.
At Osman Ahmed Osman stadium, the Arab Contractors were held to a scoreless draw against Ghazl Al-Mehalla. The draw leaves Mehalla with 11 points and the Contractors with seven.
Ismaili player on the ground while Ahli's Ibrahim Said goes for the ball photo: Amr Gamal
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