Egyptian Premier League round-up: Pyramids keep up perfect start; ZED held

CAIRO – The fourth week of the 2023-24 Egyptian Premier League season saw Pyramids FC maintained its perfect start as Zamalek, Pharco FC, Enppi, Al-Masry and Ceramica Cleopatra claimed wins. ZED FC dropped points with draw at Arab Contractors.

Defending champions Al-Ahly clash against Gouna FC postponed due to the Red Devils’ participation in the African Football League.

At Cairo International Stadium, Pyramids FC moved to the top of the domestic league after a 1-0 win against Modern Future FC.

The game sole goal came accidentally from Future’s defender Mohamed Abdel Salam in the 57^th minutes to hand Pyramids FC three valuable points.

Pyramids FC leads the domestic table with 10 points from four matches as Future dropped into second place with nine points from four matches.

At Ismaili Stadium, Algerian winger Rezki Hamroune’s last-gasp goal salvaged a 1-0 victory for Pharco FC at Ismaili.

Hamroune secured the win for Pharco FC in the 90+1 minute after passing several defenders before firing in a low shot to beat Ismaili’s keeper Mohamed Fawzi.

The victory pushed Pharco to 13^th place with four points from four matches as Ismaili remained at 14^th place with three points from four games.

At Arab Contractors Stadium, ZED FC and Arab Contractors walked away with a point apiece after their encounter ended in a goalless draw.

Arab Contractors took an early lead through Ugandan John Ochaya from the penalty spot in the 5th minutes as striker Mohamed Salem added the second in the 17^th minutes.

ZED equalised from the penalty spot in the 45+4 and 79 minutes through Shady Hassan and Mahmoud Saber respectively. Then Raafat Khalil added ZED’s third goal also from the penalty spot in the 96^th minutes.

Contractors’ defender Ahmed Fawzi succeeded in equalizing in the 90+11 minutes.

The draw left ZED FC to 5th place with eight points from four matches as Arab Contractors stayed in 17th place with two points from four matches.

At Petrosport Stadium in Cairo, Enppi beat NBE Club 3-1.

Defender Ahmed Khalil opened the scoring for Enppi in the 29^th minutes as striker Osama Faisl grabbed the equaliser for NBE Club in the 49^th minutes.

Ziad Kamal added the second for Enppi from the penalty spot in the 79^th minutes.

Mohamed Nasser put the finishing touches on an incredible sweeping the petroleum side move to make it 3-1 in the 90+6’.

The result moved Enppi to 11^th place in the table on four points from four matches as NBE Club remained winless in 18th spot without any points earned so far from four matches.

At Borg el-Arab Stadium in Alexandria, Tunisian striker Fakhreddine Ben Youssef’s second-half goal earned Al-Masry of Port Said a 1-0 home win over Talae el-Geish.

The result left Al-Masry of Port Said in 2^nd place with nine points from four games as Talae el-Geish remained in 12^th place on four points from four matches.

At El-Mahalla Stadium, Ittihad of Alexandria fought back from two goals down to salvage a point in a thrilling 2-2 draw against Baladeyet el-Mahalla.

Baladeyet el-Mahalla striker Hossam Ashraf scored twice in the 13^th and 39^th minutes respectively.

Ghanaian striker Benjamin Boateng scored for Ittihad in the 45+1’ as Islam Abu Salima succeeded in equalizing in the 81^st minutes.

The draw kept Baladeyet el-Mahalla in 8th place with five points from 4 matches as Al-Ittihad remained at 9th place with 5 points from 4 games.

At Cairo International Stadium, Zamalek secured a sizzling 5-1 win over Smouha.

Zamalek took an early lead in the 3rd minutes when winger Mostafa Shalaby converted a cross from Omar Gaber into Smouha’s net.

In the 13th minute, winger Ahmed Sayed ‘Zizo’ added the second from Youssef Obama’s cross.

In the 45+5′, playmaker Youssef Obama scored the third from a heel pass from Mahmoud Abdel-Razek ‘Shikabala’.

Smouha’s midfielder Fady Farid scored his side’s sole goal in the 67^th minutes.

In the 81^st minutes, Zamalek’s captain Shikabala shot a ball that hit Smouha’s goal crossbar and rebounded to Tunisian striker Seifeddine Jaziri, who scored his side’s fourth goal.

Shikabala increased the lead with a brilliant effort in the 89^th minutes to effectively put the outcome beyond doubt.

The result pushed Zamalek to 3rd place with eight points from four matches as Smouha remained at 6^th place with seven points from four matches.

At Arab Contractors Stadium, Ceramica Cleopatra stunned hapless Al-Dakhleya 4-0 during a brilliant first-half display in which they scored four goals.

Midfielder Mahmoud Abdel-Hafiz opened the scoring in the 8^th minutes as playmaker added the second from the penalty spot in the 22^nd minutes.

Algerian midfielder Ahmed Kendouci netted two stunning goals in the 34^th and 36^th minutes.

The victory left Ceramica Cleopatra to 10th place on four points from three matches as Al-Dakhleya stayed in 14th place with three points from four matches.