White night
Zamalek's colours were in ample evidence on the streets as the club thoroughly outclassed Ahli to move closer to the top of the league table. Eric Asomugha reports on the battle for supremacy
Following an over one-month break due to the war in Iraq, which led to anti-war rallies in Egypt, the premier league was back in action with crucial matches played at various sites around the country. None was more important than the Ahli- Zamalek derby which would have stretched Ahli's lead over Zamalek to an almost insurmountable eight points had Ahli won.
Instead Zamalek took the honours, defeating their great crosstown rivals 3-1 and whittling down Ahli's lead to a mere two points.
Despite the loss, Ahli remain at the top of the table with 57 points. Zamalek are in second with 55 points and each club has four matches remaining. But there was no doubt which way the momentum had swung after Saturday night's game in Cairo Stadium.
Under the watchful eyes of German referee Helmut Fleischer, the match kicked off in a tense atmosphere as cheering fans waved red and white flags. Though Zamalek had slighter ball possession in the first half, it was a fairly balanced game as both teams tried to take advantage of each others' mistakes, carefully stringing passes. Fleischer was kept busy during this period, calling an inordinate number of fouls on both sides which prevented the game from any serious acceleration.
Apparently playing under strict instructions from their Brazilian coach Capral, Zamalek attempted a few long-range shots to take Ahli by surprise but Essam El-Hadari proved to be firmly in control of the post, saving shots from defender Wa'el Qabanni and Tareq El-Sayed in the 11th and 17th minutes.
Evergreen, Hossam Hassan, at 36, finally broke the deadlock in the 23th minute as he caught Ahli's defence napping by knocking in a picture-play diving header that easily beat El-Hadari for the opening goal.
Ahli, who seemed to have relied much on their counter-attack, made some dangerous incursions with the Angolan Gilberto taking the lead and Ahmed Bilal effortlessly working to level up. But Bilal, the league's top goal-getter with 15 goals, was obviously out of form after spending most of the second round out of action with injuries. And when he was on the mark he was denied by Zamalek's Abdel-Wahed El-Sayed.
Just after the break, Ahli gave Zamalek no room to settle down as pressure mounted. In the 50th minute a play which involved two Ahli defenders, Yasser Radwan and Wa'el Gomaa, found Bilal, who slammed the ball into the net to level up 1-1 and notch goal No.16 on the year.
Zamalek reciprocated with an all-out attack. A good build-up from behind created way for Abdel- Halim Ali who in the process of manoeuvring through Ahli's defence found El-Hadari way out of his goal. Ali then intelligently chipped the ball over the goalkeeper for Zamalek's second goal in the 52nd minute and one of this season's best taken shots.
Ahli wasted no time in launching sporadic attacks after the goal with Bilal missing a close chance in the 56th minute. With Ahli looking more aggressive on the attack, Capral quickly took precautions by bringing in the midfield maestro Hazem Imam and Tareq El-Said for Tareq El-Sayed and Ali to lower the tempo without deflating the attack.
Ahli's Dutch coach Jo Bonfrere responded by bringing in Rida Shehata and Sayed Abdel-Hafiz for Gilberto and Mohamed Omara. But despite all efforts, an equaliser remained elusive.
As the minutes ticked away, in the 85th minute, Beshir El-Tabei sent a rocket towards El-Hadari from a direct kick. The goalkeeper did well to parry it but the ball landed straight at the feet of the hard-working Gamal Hamza who slotted in the rebound for the third goal to the disappointment of Ahli fans who began making their way out of the stadium.
The traditional Ahli-Zamalek arch-rivalry overshadowed other matches played earlier on Saturday. In Ismailia, the league's defending champions' deteriorating performance showed no signs of improvement as they forced visiting relegation-bound Goldi to a 2-2 draw.
Recent changes in Ismaili's technical crew have done little to salvage the team. Some fans continue to clamour over the disappearance of Nigerian striker Abdel-Razaq who after his magnificent goal against Zamalek last season, was highly rated and publicised as a perfect replacement for ex-Nigerian striker John Utaka.
Although Ismaili is third in the table with 40 points, the goal-hungry Border Guards with 37 points showed that they are very much in contention for a continental outing next season by thrashing their host Aswan 3-0. Close rival ENPPI, who like the Guards are making their debut in the premiership, managed an away 1-1 draw with Baladia.
At the bottom of the table, Ittihad and Mansoura managed to win their respective matches, making it more difficult to predict who between them joins Aswan and Goldi in the relegation wagon. Ittihad beat Mehalla 1-0 and Mansoura edged Tersana 2-1 while Misri beat the Arab Contractors 1-0.
Week 23 fixtures on 4 May: Arab Contractors/ Zamalek, Goldi/Misri, ENPPI/Ittihad, Mansoura/ Aswan, Border Guards/Baladia, Ahli/Tersana, Mehalla/Ismaili.
