N e w s
Ismaily Defeats Zamalek 4-3
March 30, 2002
In two totally contrasting halves, Ismaily was able to take home three vital points and put it’s name atop the Click Premiership League.
The first half was almost total Daraweesh domination. A weak Zamalek defense, a fast and talented Barakat, and some blessings from above were enough to put Ismaily triple ahead. Ismaily started off the game strong, taking control of the midfield. Mohsen Saleh started with Sobhy in goal, Moawwad, Faheim, Nahas, Saber, and Shater in defense, Barakat, Gaafar, and Abdullah in midfield, and Bassiouny and Abo Greisha Sr. in front.
The surprise for Zamalek was Mohamad Barakat, who played on the left of Khamis Gaafar, as opposed to his usual right flank position. In the 13th minute, Barakat was able to dribble down the right side of the 18 yard box, through Abdelhady and El-Abbany, and give Bassiouny the gift of scoring the first goal of the match.
After the goal, Zamalek attempted to take control of the match, but Ismaily’s organized defense was impenetrable. In the 31st minute, off a stray ball, Abdullah scored the second goal after chest-trapping the ball and shooting a ball that was too fast for Abdel-Wahed to block.
After the goal, Barakat showed another stroke of talent. The play started in Ismaily’s quarter-half, where Barakat made a nice one-two with Abdullah, which saw him break through most of Zamalek’s defense. Barakat then sprinted past the remaining sweeper, and continued toward’s Zamalek’s goal, with three defenders chasing him. He quickly changed direction to his right, and shot a low ball that skimmed Abdel-Wahed before snuggling into the net.
The second half, on the other hand, was a totally different situation. Otto Pfister made two changes, the most important one being Ghandoor for AbdelMenim. Both teams began to lose focus as the tension built up. This tension resulted in Zamalek’s first goal of the match, which came early in the half. Hazem crossed a corner into the area, where Sobhy dove on top of the ball. After seemingly having it under control, it slipped from his hands to find Felix, who shot it into the back of the net.
Barakat began to change areas, often switching to the right. Zamalek continued to pressure the Daraweesh, and Sobhy began to lose focus, fumbling ball after ball. Soon, Hamam Ibrahim was subbed in for Abo Greisha in a failed attempt to regain control of the midfield. Also, Bassoiuny was able to score another great ball after Barakat made a great run into the area, and Bassiouny took a shot that bounced off the post and into the goal.
Ismaily’s players began to lose even more focus, and Zamalek’s offense began to build up even more. In the 20th minute, a sliding Ateya Saber mistakenly handled the ball with his hand, which resulted in a yellow card for him, and a penalty and goal for Hazem Emam.
Sobhy began to show signs of injury, which may have been a psychological play. This resulted in his being replaced by Fathy.
The game continued, with Zamalek putting pressure on Ismaily, with few counterattacks coming via Mohamad Barakat, who conducted several sprints down both flanks. Zamalek finally sealed the match with a penalty in the 5th minute of extra time, which Hazem delivered powerfully to the back of Fathy’s net.
The game was a classic one. Despite the historical brotherhood between both teams, several small pushing skirmishes erupted, once between Fathy and Ibrahim Hassan, once between Abdel-Hamid and Sobhy, and a few between all players. Ismaily had four yellow cards: Sobhy, Hamam, Saber, Shater and Barakat. The game was between the top two teams in the League, and the pressure apparently got to everyone on the field. Even referee Ouda, who had the first half under control, made several questionable decisions in the second half.
About 5,000 Ismaily fans attended the match, with the remainder of the stadium’s capacity packed with Zamalek fans. The revenues from this match are to be donated to the Upper Egypt train disaster, and estimates put the value to be at around 600,000 L.E. Ismaily now tops the league, with 40 points, Zamalek is one point behind, and Ahly is four points behind Zamalek, with an away game with Ittihad at hand.
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