Where were you?
The national football league resumed after a record 75-day hiatus. Mohamed El-Sayed reports
After Egypt's early, embarrassing exit from the African Nations Cup in Tunisia, the Egyptian Football Association restarted league play before its due time, ostensibly because the reason for the 75-day stoppage -- Egypt's participation in the ANC -- no longer existed.
However, it appears there was another explanation: To help football fans forget the debacle in Tunisia by turning their attention to the local game. But judging by the near empty seats in many games as the league returned to action, the plan was not particularly successful.
At any rate, the 11th week of the competition bore good news for both Ismaili and Ahli as top-of-the-table Zamalek conceded two points, drawing 1-1 with Misri in Port Said. The draw kept the hopes of the Dervishes and the Red Devils of challenging for the championship alive. Zamalek are nine points ahead of Ismaili, who still have two matches in hand, and 10 points ahead of Ahli.
There was a time not so long ago when Zamalek vs Misri presented highly entertaining viewing. However, both sides conspired to produce drab football, Zamalek especially failing to put in any kind of a performance.
Half of Zamalek's players partook in the African cup and were, obviously, not in exceptionally high spirits; the others were out of form after the extra long layoff. The results meant that Zamalek looked nothing like the defending champions they are.
They could, in fact, have been dealt a crushing defeat if the home side translated the chances that came their way. Hossam Abdel-Moneim, whom Zamalek let go during the transfer period last month, would have given the perfect reply to his old team after 15 minutes when he produced a wonderful double kick that hit the woodwork.
Misri did much of the attacking during the half but Zamalek's defences proved inaccessible even those there was little inspiration coming from Zamalek's plodding midfield. A rare moment of skill would be followed by one of incompetence.
Misri's new head coach Farouk Gaafar left his players on the pitch during the break as punishment.
After the restart, Misri frittered away several chances before Hazem Emam, captain of Zamalek, provided Abdel-Halim Ali with a delicious through pass in the 27th minute that put Ali face to face with goalkeeper Amr Abdel-Salam. Ali found no difficulty in driving the ball home, scoring his sixth goal in the league.
Zamalek tried to waste the remaining minutes, but referee Hassan Ali awarded the home side a controversial penalty when Beshir El-Tabai seemed to bring down a Misri player in the second minute of injury time. This time Abdel-Moneim netted the ball and sparking off emotional scenes among the 15,000 fervent Misri supporters.
"Actually, I do not know whether I lost two points or won one," said Vingada, Zamalek's Portuguese coach. "We paid the price because of the long pause and the frustration of our international players."
Despite the draw, Zamalek are still ahead in the standings with 29 points while Misri remain in the eighth place with 14.
In Cairo, Ahli continued their rebound with a convincing 2- 0 win over Tersana. After conceding 14 points since the beginning of the season, the Red Devils seemed to have regained their composure under Portuguese coach Manuel Jose. In fact, they hope for a 1994-95 repeat when they made up a 12-point deficit to overtake Zamalek for the title.
After his fourth game with the Reds, Jose rearranged the team, infusing fresh blood -- Ahli brought in midfielder Hassan Mustafa of Ittihad for LE1 million, the most expensive transfer; the Brazilian import Gilberson for LE850,000; Tersana's star striker Mohamed Abu Treika for LE500,000; and right winger Ahmed Radwan of Qanah for LE400,000.
Tersana, known as the Hammers dominated the first 15 minutes and sent several long-range shots towards Essam El- Hadari's goal in an attempt to take the lead. The Reds, however, regrouped and scored the opener in the 33rd minute when Abu Treika converted a cross provided by Mohamed Shawqi into his old team's net. Scoring his third goal in two matches with his new team, Abu Treika has established himself as a talented striker and generous playmaker. Unlike other players who score against their former team, Abu Treika celebrated his first goal against them with abandon, annoying Tersana officials who were taken aback by the player's reaction and described it as "provocative".
Five minutes into the second half, Ahmed Abu Misallam increased the Reds' lead when he circumvented Hammers defender Haitham Farouk, sending the ball to the right side of the goalkeeper.
Tersana's head coach Hassan El-Shazli, who showed up alone sitting next to the substitutes because the rest of the coaching staff was busy voting in the club elections, brought in veteran Mo'men Abdel-Ghaffar and Amr Samaka as reinforcements.
Gilberson displayed a Brazilian fine touch when he skipped past three players before he sent a shot with the inside of his right foot that sailed inches past the left post.
With 19 points, the win catapulted the Reds into seventh place along with the Hammers.
In Ismailia, African team of 2003 Ismaili managed a hard- fought 2-1 win over 10th-place Aswan. Having done without the services of five veteran players, Ismaili played with a line- up consisting mainly of juniors. It appears that the Dervishes are building for the future but that will take some time before their charges acquire the necessary experience.
Despite having the upper hand throughout the first half, Ismaili could not score the opener until the 47th minute. Youssef Gamal, a new import from Beni Soueif who replaced Mohamed Mohsen Abu Greisha, received a cross in the six-yard area and easily drove the ball home.
Thirteen minutes after the restart, some careless defending allowed Ahmed Eid Abdel-Malik of Aswan to make a solo run from the right flank. Instead of sending a cross, he outwitted goalkeeper Mohamed Sobhi, sending the ball into the near angle.
The equaliser was just a cue for the home side to launch ferocious attacks, leading to the second goal, a gem in itself, in the 62nd minute. Omar Gamal, a new face from Aluminum Safaga, delivered a powerful left-foot shot from 35 yards that left the goalkeeper motionless. Gamal has so proved himself that Hassan Shehata, head coach of the Olympic team, has taken him aboard.
With two matches in hand, the Dervishes are now in third place with 20 points. Should they won their postponed fixtures, they will be only three points behind Zamalek.
In other matches, Ittihad surprisingly lost 2-1 to Mehalla in Alexandria. Both teams are chasing third place. Three minutes into the first half Abdel-Latif El-Domani fired Mehalla ahead. In the 43rd minute, Karam Gaber scored the second before his coach Mohamed Salah suffered a mild heart attack while on the bench. Salah was taken to hospital, but was released the same day.
Eight minutes after the restart, Tshirno narrowed the difference when he sent a tantalizing shot into the visitors' net.
Both teams have 20 points and lie in third and fourth place respectively.
The oil company Enppi lost two precious points in their race to the title, drawing 0-0 with 11th-place Mansoura. Hassan Megahid, head coach of Mansoura, was content with the point his team earned and considered the game a "turning point" in the course of his relegation-bound team. Enppi are in fourth place with 20 points, while Mansoura lag behind in 12th place with seven points.
Tenth-place Baladiyet Al-Mehalla achieved their second win this season, defeating bottom- of-the-table Koroum 2-1. Ahmed Farghali and Hamada El-Sayed scored for the home side in the 32nd and 92nd minutes respectively while Mohamed Abdel-Rahman scored for the visitors 12 minutes before time.
In Alexandria, the Border Guards (20 points) levelled 0-0 with 13th-place Qanah (seven points).
Ahmed Bilal of Ahli still tops the goal-scorers with seven goals, one ahead of Ali and Qanah's Emad Ayyoub.
Astonishingly, the league will be stopped once again for two weeks because of the Arab Champions League and Olympic qualifiers -- despite the fact that after losing their first three games, the team has no chance of going to Athens.
