CAIRO – The era of Ricardo Soares started with a 2-0 victory over Petrojet in the 2021 Egyptian Cup semi-finals as Al-Ahly booked their place in the final on July 21 against Zamalek.
Two goals from playmaker Mohamed Magdy ‘Afsha’ and defender Mohamed Abdelmonem sealed an important victory for the Red Devils and we will face Zamalek in the competition’s final.
For the first time, Soares was in the dugout as Al-Ahly head coach and players celebrated the arrival of their new coach with a strong start to the game.
Afsha needed just eight minutes to open the score when he received the ball inside the box and curled the ball into the top corner.
The Red Devils pushed for the second goal and winger Taher Mohamed Taher and striker Mohamed Sherif missed two clear chances to score the second goal.
Minutes before half-time, goalkeeper Mohamed el-Shenawy was needed to save a penalty from Petrojet’s player Mostafa Elgamal to send his team to the interval with a 1-0 lead.
The two teams just continued to trade blows in the opening minutes of the second half, with Taher finding the back of the net but his goal was denied for offside.
Al-Ahly players were close twice but winger Hussein el-Shahat and Sherif missed two clear chances within a matter of moments.
Soares made two changes to boost the attacking power with striker Hossam Hassan and winger Salah Mohsen replacing Sherif and Taher.
Hossam was close to scoring only seconds after his arrival to the game when he received the ball inside the box and escaped the defender marking him but his shot was blocked and went to a corner kick.
A trademark cross from Tunisian left-back Ali Maaloul found a sensational header from Abdelmonem who found the back of the net to make the score 2-0.
Al-Ahly was then dealt a blow when defender Yasser Ibrahim fell to the turf and was unable to continue to be replaced by defender Ayman Ashraf.
Al-Ahly players controlled the tempo of the game in the final moments and Soares made two more substitutions as veteran Walid Soliman and midfielder Aliou Dieng replaced Afsha and Handy Fathy.
The Red Devils marched into the Cup final as they are one step away from defending their title.
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