Al Ahly pulled off an impressive comeback tonight at Al Ahly WE Al Salam Stadium against El Entag El Harby in a game postponed from Matchday 24 of the Egyptian Premier League.
Thanks to two late goals from Hussein El Shahat and Walter Bwalya, the Red Eagles secured a 3-2 victory over El Entag El Harby, achieving a precious three points after a combative game.
First Half
The first half started with frontline pressure from the Red Eagles. We had the possession and we made several chances to break the deadlock, but the opponent’s defenders were well organized at the back.
Our first moment came in the 6th minute of the game. Aliou Dieng received the ball in the opponent’s final third, and then fired a strong shot, but it missed the target and went to a goal kick.
Another goal-scoring chance came for Amr El Soulia, who delivered a beautiful long pass for Mahmoud Kahraba, who changed the ball’s direction towards the net, but it hit the bar and went to a goal kick.
In the 35th minute, we were awarded a penalty after a late challenge from the opponent’s keeper against our striker Marwan Mohsen.
Maaloul stood behind the ball and converted it into the bottom corner to give us a 1-0 lead in the game.
El Entag El Harby tried their best to equalize with some dead balls.
Unlike the game’s flow, El Entag had a dangerous scoring chance in the stoppage time of the first half. However, the calm and collected Ali Lotfy was on hand to keep the ball out.
Second Half
Pitso Mosimane, our coach, used his bench at the break, as Hussien El Shahat joined the game instead of Junior Ajayi.
The pace of the game picked up following the restart, as our opponents were trying to equalize, but we managed to block their attempts.
El Entag’s Mostafa El Badry tested Lotfy with a cheeky shot, but our goalkeeper deflected the ball away to a corner kick.
In the 53rd minute, El Entag managed to equalize the score, thanks to Mohamed Abu El Ezz’s effort.
Mosimane made the second substitution in the 57th minute, as Mohamed Sherif joined the match instead of Mohamed Hany, adding another striker in the opponent’s box.
El Entag’s second moment in the game came in the 63rd minute, as Mostafa El Badry scored the second goal to make it 2-1 and the game became more complicated.
The Red Eagles upped their pressure in order to equalize, but the opponent’s defenders managed to keep their net clean.
Mosimane used his bench again as Walter Bwalya and Yasser Ibrahim joined the game instead of Ayman Ashraf and Mahmoud Kahraba.
With 20 minutes on the clock, much of our good work was coming from the boots of Afsha. He produced several sublime moments, but they were foiled by El Entag’s defenders.
Mosimane made another substitution, as Wahid joined the game instead of Badr Benoun to add more attacking power.
In the 84th minute, El Soulia delivered a sensational pass to El Shahat, who received the ball and then converted it into the bottom of the net to clinch the equalizer.
The 2-2 draw was not enough for us, as we kept searching for the winning goal to clinch the three points.
Taking the ball from his own half, Dieng dribbled past El Entag’s defender and passed the ball to Ali Maaloul.
Standing on the left flank of the opponent’s final third, Maaloul sent a staggering cross inside the box. Bwalya blasted a sensational header into the back of the opponent’s net to gift us a brilliant victory in a sensational night at Al Ahly WE Stadium.
Match Sheet
Venue: Al Ahly WE Al Salam Stadium
Referee: Mohamed Marouf
Occasion: Postponed game from Matchday 24 of the Egyptian Premier League
Starting Line-up:
Ali Lotfy - Ayman Ashraf - Badr Benoun - Mohamed Hany - Ali Maaloul - Amr El Soulia - Aliou Dieng - Mohamed Magdy Afsha - Junior Ajayi - Mahmoud Kahraba - Marwan Mohsen
Substitutions:
El Shahat (Ajayi)
Sherif (Hany)
Bwalya (Kahraba)
Yasser (Ayman)
Wahid (Benoun)
Goals
Maaloul 37’
Abu El Ezz (El Entag) 54’
Mostafa El Badry (El Entag) 64’
El Shahat 85’
Bwalya 90+3’
Next Game
On Thursday 29 July in the Egyptian Premier League against Aswan
