Egyptian Premier League round-up: Pyramids, Zamalek win as Ahly drops more points

Tamer Mohamed

CAIRO – The seventh week of the 2023-24 Egyptian Premier League season saw Pyramids FC maintained its perfect start as Zamalek, Al-Masry of Port Said and Ceramica Cleopatra claimed wins. Defending champions Al-Ahly dropped more points.

At Alexandria Stadium, ZED FC and Al-Ittihad of Alexandria walked away with a point apiece after their encounter ended in a goalless draw.

The draw left ZED FC to 3rd place with 13 points from seven matches as Al-Ittihad of Alexandria stayed in 5th place with 12 points from seven matches.

At Petrosport Stadium in Cairo, Ceramica Cleopatra stunned NBE Club 1-0.

The game sole goal came through striker Ahmed Yasser Rayan in the 55^th minutes from a smart pass from team-mate Mohamed Antar and unleashed a quite stunning strike.

This victory left Ceramica Cleopatra in 9th place with 10 points from seven matches as NBE Club remained in 17th place with three points from seven games.

El-Masry of Port Said rallied to beat Enppi 2-1 at Borg el-Arab Stadium in Alexandria.

El-Masry took the lead in the 36^th minutes through Algerian left-winger Ghiles Guenaoui with a brilliant curling effort inside a crowded penalty area as they went into the break ahead.

Ahmed Amin put the finishing touches on an incredible sweeping the petroleum side move to make it 1-1 in the 43rd minutes.

El-Masry’s winger Mido Gaber struck a stoppage-time winner in the 90+3 minutes.

The result moved El-Masry of Port Said to 6th place in the table on 12 points from seven matches as Enppi remained at 11th place with 10 points from seven games.

Pyramids FC claimed a valuable triumph after stunning Ismaili 2-1 at Cairo’s Air Defence Stadium.

Ghanaian forward Yaw Annor opened the scoring for Ismaili in the 12^th minutes following a powerful shot into Pyramids’ goalkeeper Ahmed el-Shenawy.

Playmaker Abdullah el-Said grabbed the equaliser for Pyramids from the penalty spot in the 66^th minutes.

South Africa international Fakhri Lakay sealed his side’s winning goal in the 86^th minutes from a smart pass from team-mate Ramadan Sobhi and unleashed a quite stunning strike.

The result pushed Pyramids on top of the domestic league with 16 points from seven matches as Ismaili dropped into 16th place with four points from seven matches.

At Borg el-Arab Stadium in Alexandria, Pharco FC and Arab Contractors played out a 1-1 draw.

Pharco FC seemed on course for victory when midfielder Ahmed Sherif gave them the lead after 30 minutes.

But Contractors’ forward Emad Mayhoub unleashed a stunning equaliser in the 65^th minutes.

The draw pushed Pharco FC to 14th place with five points from seven matches as Arab Contractors remained winless in 18th place with three points from seven games.

At Cairo’s Military Sports Authority Stadium, El-Gouna FC and Talae el-Geish shared the spoils in a thrilling 1-1 draw.

Madagascar’s striker Arnaud Randrianantenaina opened the scoring for El-Gouna in the 43^rd minutes.

In a last ditch throw of the dice, defender Mohamed Fathallah levelled the score for Talae el-Geish in the 90+5.

The draw left Talae el-Geish in 8th place with 11 points from seven games as El-Gouna stayed at 10th place with 10 points from seven games.

Baladeyet el-Mahalla and El-Dakhleya had to settle for a point each as both sides lacked a cutting edge at Al-Salam Stadium in Cairo.

The result pushed Baladeyet el-Mahalla to 12th place with nine points from six matches as El-Dakhleya kept in 15^th place with five points from seven games.

At Cairo’s Arab Contractors Stadium, Al-Ahly was held to a goalless draw against Alexandrian based side Smouha.

Marcel Koller’s men failed to find Smouha’s net to make the breakthrough despite dominating possession.

The draw left the Red Devils to 2nd place with 14 points from six matches as Smouha stayed in 13th place with nine points from seven games.

At Cairo’s Al-Salam Stadium, Zamalek defeated Modern Future FC 2-0.

The White Knights were awarded a penalty which winger Ahmed Sayed ‘Zizo’ blasted into the net to take the lead for his side in the 39^th minutes.

Senegalese forward Ibrahima Ndiaye added the second after converting a cross from Zizo into Future’s net in the 48^th minutes.

The result pushed Zamalek to fifth place in the table with 11 points from seven games as Future FC remained in fourth place with 12 points from seven matches.