The Red Eagles put in one of the best performances this season and secured a 4-0 win at home on Saturday night to return to the top of the league table.
We are now six weeks away from the finishline and we need to win these six matches to keep the trophy in Gezira whatever the result of the second-placed, Zamalek.
Yasser Ibrahim, Mohamed Sherif’s penalty, an own goal, and a beautiful goal from Afsha helped us cruise to a comfortable victory, completing a four-game winning streak for the first time in the league this season.
First Half
Just after the referee blew the kick-off whistle; Mohamed Sheriif took the ball and tried to dribble past the defender on the left flank. He then passed the ball to Afsha, but Ceramica’s defender managed to clear it away.
With three minutes on the clock, Yasser Ibrahim broke the deadlock with a brilliant header. Maaloul played a tricky corner kick inside the box and it was met by poor clearance from the opponent’s defense.
The ball found El Soulia’s leg, who tried to convert the ball into the net but his shot was blocked, changing its direction, and that was when Yasser’s moment came, as he dived to blast his header to gift us the early lead.
Ceramica upped their pressure after conceding the first goal, as they were searching for the equalizer, but our defenders stood their ground, blocking all their attempts.
In the 13th minute, Hamdy Fathy sent a brilliant through pass to El Shahat, who sent a sensational cross to Sherif.
Sherif managed to convert the ball into the back of the net, but the referee disallowed the goal after checking the VAR, due to the ball touching Afsha’s hand.
Four minutes later, we missed another dangerous scoring chance. Hany sent a cross from the right flank, but another poor clearance from the opponent’s defenders found Afsha, who blasted a strong header, but it was blocked by the keeper. The ball then reached El Shahat, who fired a strong shot, but it missed the net and went to a goal kick.
In the 19th minute, Kahraba sent a defense-splitting pass to Sherif who went to a one vs one situation. Sherif shot the ball, but the opponent’s keeper used his hands outside of the box to stop the shot. We were awarded a foul at the edge of the box and Ceramica’s keeper was sent off with a straight red card.
In the 24th minute, Afsha stood behind the ball, ready to fire a beautiful shot that hit Ceramica’s post. The ball then went to Ramy Rabia, who converted the ball into the back of the net with a strong shot to make the result 2-0. However, the referee once again disallowed the goal due to an offside.
We kept our pressure and in the 32nd minute, El Soulia fired a strong shot, but the opponent’s keeper managed to block it away.
In the 45th minute, Ceramica’s moment came, as their player shot a strong ball, but it barely missed the net and went to a goal kick.
We kept our pressure to score the second goal, but all our attempts were blocked by the opponent’s defenders.
Before the referee blew his half-time whistle, our loanee to Caermica, Ahmed Yasser Rayan was close to equalizing the score, but he missed the ball and it went to a goal kick.
Second Half
In the 52nd minute, we were awarded a penalty due to a late challenge against El Shahat. Sherif managed to score from the spot to make it 2-0 for the Red Eagles.
In the 57th minute, El Shahat kept his impressive performance and sent a cross from the right flank, which met Sherif’s leg, but the keeper managed to deflect it away to a corner kick.
Ceramica had a dangerous chance in the 62nd minute, as Mido Gaber ran on the right flank and delivered a cross to Mohamed Ibrahim, who shot the ball, but El Shenawy was there to keep our net clean.
With 67th minutes on the clock, Pitso Mosimane used his bench for the first time in the game, as Walter Bwalya and Junior Ajayi joined the field instead of El Shahat and Kahraba.
Two minutes later, Ceramica were awarded a foul at the edge of the box. Gaber shot the ball, but it went directly to El Shenawy’s hands.
The third goal finally came twenty minutes before the final whistle. El Soulia delivered a brilliant pass to Ajayi who fired a left-footed shot, but it hit the defender’s leg and changed its way to the opponent’s net.
Eight minutes later, Afsha scattered some of his magic and scored a sensational goal to make it 4-0. Our in-form playmaker received the ball in the final third, firing a staggering screamer that hit the top corner to put his name on the score sheet of the game.
Mosimane used his bench once again, as Wahid joined the game instead of Maaloul, then Marwan Mohsen and Saad Samir entered the pitch, replacing Afsha and Rabia.
The final minutes went on, and the Red Eagles were controlling the game’s tempo until the referee blew his final whistle to declare a comfortable victory for the Red Eagles.
Match Sheet
Venue: Al Ahly WE Al Salam Stadium
Referee: Amin Omar
Occasion: A postponed game from Matchday 23 of the Egyptian Premier League.
Substitutions:
El Shahat (Bwalya)
Kahraba (Ajayi)
Maaloul (Wahid)
Rabia (Saad)
Afsha (Marwan)
Goals:
Yasser Ibrahim 3’
Mohamed Sherif 54’
Tarek Samy 72’ (OG)
Afsha 79‘
Next Game:
On Saturday 7 August July in the Egyptian Premier League against Ceramica Cleopatra.
