Al Ahly secured the second victory in the Egyptian Premier League this season after defeating National Bank SC 1-0 on Sunday night at Al Ahly We Al Salam Stadium.
Mohamed Sherif did not need much time to break the deadlock, as he scored the opener seconds after he joined the game in the second half.
We moved to the top of the table with 6 points after two games and we are now ready for the Cairo derby against Zamalek on Friday.
First Half
Al Ahly controlled the game’s tempo since the beginning of the game, as we were searching to score the early opener and ease our mission in the game.
Our first moment came in the 9th minute, as Afsha sent a brilliant long pass inside National Bank’s box. Afsha’s pass reached Hamdy Fathy, whose header converted the ball into the bottom corner, but the goalkeeper managed to block it away.
With 18 minutes on the clock, we had another clear scoring chance. Afsha received the ball at the edge of the box, and with a magical touch, he delivered a staggering pass inside the box.
Percy Tau jumped in the air and blasted a header, but the ball went to a goal kick. However, the referee then blew his whistle to declare that Tau was offside.
Two minutes later, Luis Miquissone was close to scoring his first goal in the Red jersey. A poor clearance from Mahmoud El Zanfly found Miquissone at the edge of the box, who blasted a strong header, but the defender cleared the ball into a corner kick.
In the 23rd minute, we had another scoring chance. Mohamed Hany delivered a good cross from the right flank, but the keeper deflected the ball away. However, the ball reached Amr El Soulia at the edge of the box, he then fired a strong shot, but it missed the target and the ball went to a goal kick.
Five minutes later, Akram Tawfik blasted a screamer in the 28th minute. Tawfik won the ball back in the midfield and dribbled past the opponent's player, then he fired a strong shot, but the ball went to a goal kick.
In the 36th minute, National Bank had another scoring chance as their striker shot the ball from our final third, but the ball went directly to Ali Lotfy’s hands.
Minutes before half-time, Fathy fired a strong shot, but the ball went to a goal kick.
Second Half
The second half kicked off with great pressure from the Red Eagles, as we were keen to break the deadlock.
In the 51st minute, El Soulia won the ball back in the midfield and then sent a sensational long pass to Tau. Tau received the ball and sprinted towards the goal, but his shot was blocked by the defender.
In the 53rd minute, Mosimane made his first substitution, as Mohamed Sherif joined the game instead of Hany.
Sherif did not take much time to announce his arrival, as he scored from his first touch in the game.
El Soulia received the ball and had the room to send a strong shot. El Zanfly blocked his shot, but his poor clearance reached Sherif who converted the ball into the back of the empty net to make it 1-0.
Mosimane used his bench once again in the game, as Hussien El Shahat and Ahmed Abdelkader replaced Tau and Miquissone.
In the 73rd minute, National Bank had another scoring chance, but Lotfy saved his net. Helal ran towards our box and shot a strong ball, but Lotfy deflected the ball towards a corner kick.
In the 78th minute, Afsha left the pitch as Amar Hamdy came in action.
The Red Eagles pushed forward to double the score in the last ten minutes of the game. El Shahat delivered a brilliant cross from the right flank. The ball reached Abdelkader, who blasted a strong header, but the opponent’s defender managed to block it away from his net.
National Bank were close to leveling the score with a ground cross inside our penalty area, but Ali Maaloul was in the perfect place to clear the ball.
The minutes went on and we controlled the game’s tempo again, as we were keen to add another goal before the final whistle.
We had another scoring chance in the 88th minute; as Fathy was close to scoring a beautiful goal but his ball hit the post.
The referee blew his final whistle to declare a 1-0 victory for the Red Eagles at home.
