Al Ahly surpasses Zamalek

With two long-range strikes, Al Ahly secured a costly victory over their traditional rivals Zamalek 2-0 in the Cairo Derby yesterday, in the top match of the sixth round of the Egyptian Premier League. Mohamed Hany (39th minute) and Algerian Mostafa Barghout (80th minute) scored the goals that lifted Al Ahly’s tally to 16 points, temporarily topping the table one point ahead of Pyramids, who face Ceramica Cleopatra on Monday. Zamalek dropped to third place with 13 points. Neither team threatened the goal except through long-range attempts, and as time wore on, Zamalek controlled possession in midfield but without posing a real threat to Mustafa Shobair’s goal. In the 39th minute, Mohamed Hany exchanged passes with Moroccan Ashraf Ben Shariki before unleashing a shot from about 30 meters that deceived goalkeeper Mehdi Soliman, amid celebrations by Al Ahly fans. Zamalek’s most dangerous chance in the first half came in the first minute of stoppage time, when Ahmed Sharif received a through ball behind Al Ahly’s defense and set up Angolan Chico Banza, but his shot struck Akrām Tawfiq’s leg and went out for a corner. Zamalek pressed from the start of the second half and had a very dangerous opportunity in the 53rd minute when Zizo made a passing error, allowing Abdullah Said to launch a counterattack before passing to Moroccan Mahmoud Bentayk, whose precise cross was met by Ahmed Sharif with a powerful close-range header, but Mustafa Shobair saved it brilliantly. Hussein Amouta brought on Omar El Kaddouri and Algerian Sofiane Boufal for Mohamed Nadeem and Imam Ashour in the 67th minute, while Mostafa Jamal introduced young Mohamed Hamad for Abdullah Said, followed by the double substitution of Hossam Ashraf and Ahmed Abdelrahim “Esho” for Bentayk and Ahmed Sharif in the 74th minute. Two minutes later, Chico Banza delivered a cross that Hossam Ashraf met with a powerful header that went over the crossbar. Jamal then brought on Palestinian Adi Al-Dabbagh for Ahmed Fattouh in the 79th minute. One minute later, Zizo played a low pass to Boufal, who dribbled past Mohamed Ismail before firing a low shot with his left foot into the bottom-left corner of Soliman’s goal, saving his team from a third when he also saved a shot from Shihab from a narrow angle.