Al Ahly started the 2021-2022 Egyptian Premier League campaign with a comfortable 4-0 victory over Ismaily at Borg Al Arab Stadium.
Percy Tau was keen to make his debut game special, as he scored a brilliant brace to help the team achieve important three points in our journey to win the league title.
First Half
Al Ahly started the game with great pressure, as we were searching to break the deadlock early.
The Red Eagles controlled the game’s tempo and kept pushing to score the opener, but Ismaily’s defenders stood their ground and blocked our attempts.
Our first moment came when Percy Tau dribbled past Ismaily’s defender with a brilliant feint and was on the way to sending a cross, but Ismaily's defender blocked his efforts and the ball went to a corner kick.
Another chance came when Afsha sprinted towards the goal, and from the final third, he fired a strong shot, but the ball was blocked by the defenders, before reaching Tau, who was on offside.
Against the game’s flow, Ismaily were close to scoring, when Shourky Nagib sprinted on the right flank and then fired a strong shot.
However, Ali Lotfy was in the perfect place to deflect the ball into a corner kick.
In the 19th minute, we were awarded a penalty kick. Luis Miquissone went inside the box, but he was knocked down due to a late challenge from Ismaily’s defender.
After checking the VAR, the referee confirmed the penalty. Ali Maaloul stood behind the ball, and converted it into the back of the net to give us a 1-0 lead.
Two minutes later, Percy Tau marked his appearance with a beautiful goal.
Dieng sent a good pass to Afsha, who changed the ball's direction with a brilliant header. Tau then received the ball in the final third and dribbled past Ismaily’s defender. With a staggering shot, Tau sent the ball into the bottom corner to give us a 2-0 lead before the half-hour mark.
We kept searching to add another goal, as Ali Maaloul ran down the right flank, and from the edge of the box, he sent a sensational cross. The ball reached Hamdy Fathy, who blasted a strong header, but Ahmed Adel Abdulmenem managed to block it away from his net.
It was obvious that Tau was keen to make his debut game special, and there is nothing greater than scoring a brace to make it memorable.
Maaloul won the ball back in the midfield and gave it to Afsha, who sent another sensational ground cross to Tau. With a brilliant first touch, Tau received the ball and placed it into the bottom corner to give us a 3-0 lead.
The referee needed to check the VAR, as there was an offside possibility. However, the referee confirmed the goal after he saw that Tau was onside.
In the 43rd minute, Ismaily had a clear scoring chance. The ball went to Nageb on the right flank, and once again, he hit the ball with a first-time shot, but the ball went to a goal-kick.
We kept controlling the game until the referee blew the halftime whistle.
Second Half
The second half started with a clear scoring chance for us. Dieng received the ball in our half and dribbled past Ismaily’s players, before sending a pass with the outside of his boot, to Miquissone on the left flank.
Our winger sprinted towards Ismaily’s box and then fired a strong shot, but the ball went to a goal-kick.
Ismaily was trying to close the gap, but our defenders stood their ground and managed to block all the opponent’s attempts.
In the 56th minute, Tau was close to scoring his first-ever hat-trick while wearing the red jersey, but his goal was ruled out due to an offside.
Afsha received the ball on the right flank and sent a great cross to Tau, who converted the ball into the back of the net. However, the goal was ruled out due to an offside.
In the 70th minute, Afsha was close to putting his name on the scoring sheet, but his efforts went to a goal kick. El Soulia sent a brilliant pass to Afsha, who then fired a strong shot, but it went to a goal kick.
In the 71st minute, Pitso Mosimane used his bench for the first time in the game, as Hussien El Shahat, Hossam Hassan, and Ahmed Abdelqader joined the game instead of Tau, Afsha, and Miquissone.
Two minutes later, Aliou Dieng was sent off due to a late challenge against Mohamed El Shamy. The referee showed the second yellow card for Dieng and he left the pitch as the Red Eagles continued the game with ten players.
In the 84th minute, El Soulia received a yellow card due to a late challenge against Ismaily’s player. Two minutes later, he left the pitch as Amar Hamdy joined the game.
In the 87th minute, Abdelqader scored a beauty with a clinical finish. Abdelqader received a good cross from the right side, and with a brilliant first touch, he dribbled past two players, before sending the ball into the back of the net to make it 4-0.
The final minutes continued to tick by and we were controlling the game’s tempo until the referee blew his final whistle to announce a sensational 4-0 victory for the Red Eagles.
Match Sheet
Venue: Borg Al Arab Stadium
Referee: Mohamed Adel
Occasion: Matchday 1 of the 2021-2022 Egyptian Premier League
Starting Line-up: (Aly Lotfy - Ali Maaloul - Ayman Ashraf - Badr Benoun - Akram Tawfik - Hamdy Fathy - Amr El Soulia - Aliou Dieng – Afsha - Luis Miquissone - Percy Tau).
Substitutions:
Hussien El Shahat (Miquissone)
Hossam Hassan (Tau)
Ahmed Abdelkader (Afsha)
Amar Hamdy (El Soulia)
Mohamed Hany (Tawfik)
Goals :
Ali Maaloul 21’
Percy Tau 23’, 32’
Ahmed Abdelkader 87’
Yellow Cards:
Amr El Soulia
Red Cards:
Aliou Dieng
Next Game:
On 31st October against National Bank in Matchday 2 of the Egyptian Premier League
