Egyptian Premier League round-up: Pyramids, Zamalek drop points

CAIRO – The ninth week of the 2023-24 Egyptian Premier League season saw Pyramids FC and Zamalek dropped more points as ZED FC, Al-Masry of Port Said and Enppi claimed victories. Arab Contractors secured first league win of the season.

Defending champions Al-Ahly clash against Al-Ittihad of Alexandria postponed due to the Red Devils’ participation in the Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia.

At Borg el-Arab Stadium in Alexandria, newly promoted side ZED rallied to beat Pharco FC 2-1.

Pharco seemed on course for victory when midfielder Mohamed Fakhri gave them the lead in the 2^nd minute.

Right-winger Raafat Khalil netted the equaliser for ZED in the 59^th minutes with a brilliant curling effort inside a crowded penalty area.

Forward Moustafa Fawzy ‘Ziko’ claimed the winner from the penalty spot in the 66^th minutes.

The victory left newly promoted side ZED FC to second place with 16 points from eight matches as Pharco FC dropped into 17th place with five points from nine games.

At Petrosport Stadium in Cairo, Enppi defeated Ismaili 1-0.

The game sole goal came through centre-back player Mohamed Hamed in the 14^th minutes.

The win lifted the Petroleum side to ninth place with 13 points from nine matches as Ismaili dropped into 15th place with seven points from nine games.

At Cairo’s Military Sports Authority Stadium, Arab Contractors eased the pressure on new manager Talaat Muharram after securing a first Premier League win of the season with a 2-1 victory at Talae el-Geish.

Nigerian forward Godwin Chika gave El-Geish an early lead when he swept the ball into the top corner after a knockdown from Contractors’ defender Imad Eddine Boubacar in the third minute and then saw a shot come back off the crossbar.

Arab Contractors had the better chances as El-Geish goalkeeper Mohamed Shaaban kept his side on terms with outstanding saves.

Contractors were then level in the 45+3 minutes when striker Mohamed Salem fired a long-range shot.

In the 54^th minutes, Contractors’ goalkeeper Amer Amer made a stunning save to prevent El-Geish from adding the second.

Forward Salem embarked on a mazy run to the edge of the penalty area and then belting a powerful shot low to Shaaban’s left in the 62^nd minutes.

The result pushed Arab Contractors to 14^th place in the standing on seven points from nine matches as Talae el-Geish remained at six place with 14 points from nine games.

El-Dakhleya and Smouha FC walked away with a point apiece after their encounter ended in a goalless draw at Cairo’s Al-Salam Stadium.

The contest saw El-Dakhleya’s striker Abdul Rahman Atef fired just wide late in the first-half, while the visitors ‘Smouha’ was unable to capitalise on their best chance after the restart.

The draw left Smouha to 10^th place with 13 points from nine matches as El-Dakhleya stayed in 16^th place with seven points from nine games.

At Borg el-Arab Stadium in Alexandria, Al-Masry of Port Said stunned Zamalek 1-0.

El-Masry took the lead in the 45+6′ minutes through Algerian left-winger Ghiles Guenaoui with a brilliant curling effort inside a crowded penalty area as they went into the break ahead.

In the 33^rd minutes, El-Masry failed to score from the penalty spot as Zamalek’s goalkeeper Mohamed Awad saved Tunisian midfielder Elyes Jelassi’s spot-kick.

Zamalek controlled the early minutes of the second-half in an attempt to claim the equaliser, but without any danger.

The White Knights had the better chances as Al-Masry’s keeper Mahmoud Gad kept the Port Said side on terms with outstanding saves.

The result is the White Knights’ third loss in eight league games.

The victory left Al-Masry of Port Said into third place with 15 points from eight games as Zamalek dropped into 12th place with 11 points from eight matches.

At Cairo’s Air Defence Stadium, Pyramids FC and Baladeyet el-Mahalla shared the spoils in a thrilling 2-2 draw.

Congolese forward Fiston Mayele opened the scoring for Pyramids in the 22^nd minutes of the game.

Baladeyet el-Mahalla striker Hossam Ashraf succeeded in scoring his side’s first goal 10 minutes before the end of the first-half.

South Africa international Fakhri Lakay sealed Pyramids’ second goal in the 47^th minutes.

Baladeyet el-Mahalla left-back player Ahmed Reda knocked in a second from a smart pass from team-mate Hossam Ashraf and unleashed a quite stunning strike in the 75^th minutes.

Pyramids FC remained on top of the domestic table with 17 points from eight matches as Baladeyet el-Mahalla dropped into 13th place with 10 points from eight games.

At Arab Contractors Stadium, El-Gouna FC snatched a 3-2 victory over NBE Club.

Striker Hossam Ghanem scored a hat-trick to to hand El-Gouna three valuable points.

El-Gouna seemed on course for victory when forward Ghanem gave them the lead in the.46^th minutes.

Right winger Mohamed Grendo netted the equalizer in the 52^nd minutes as NBE’s forward Karim Bambo added the third in the 58^th minutes.

Ghanem claimed an equalizer in the 62^nd minutes before scoring the game-winner in the 64^th minutes.

The win left El-Gouna FC in seventh place with 13 points from eight matches as NBE Club remained in 18th place with three points from nine games.

At Cairo’s Al-Salam Stadium, Modern Future FC and Ceramica Cleopatra played out a 1-1 draw.

Striker Marwan Mohsen opened the scoring for the newly promoted side in the 17^th minutes as Ceramica’s left-back player Mohamed Shokry equalized in the 90+4 minutes.

The draw left Ceramica Cleopatra to fifth place with 14 points from nine matches as Future FC stayed in eighth place with 13 points from eight games.