30 June 2011
Al Ahly look set to retain their Egyptian Premier League title after scoring a late equaliser to claim a 2-2 draw against bitter rivals Zamalek on Wednesday night in a match that was almost called-off by the referee as tensions threatened to boil over.
The result means Ahly maintain their five-point advantage over Zamalek with just three games of the season remaining and it is hard to see how they will give up their seventh-straight title now.
It might have been different though has Zamalek held on for the win, but they could not hold onto the lead in what was a tense match, which at times threatened to boil over into another embarrassing episode for Egyptian football.
The White Knights took the lead after an own-goal from Ahly’s Sherif Abdul-Fadil, but the Red Devils hit back through striker Geddo. Hussein Yasser netted a beauty to restore Zamalek’s advantage, but Dominique da Silva scored seven minutes from time to earn a vital point for Ahly.
But as is often the case, Zamalek coach Hossam Hassan was then the catalyst for some ugly scenes as he protested the equaliser with Dutch referee Kevin Blom.
He claimed that play should have been stopped with two Zamalek plays down injured, but the referee was correct in waving play-on, especially as Zamalek players had been falling to the ground under minimal contact all evening.
The game was stopped for almost 10 minutes while chaos ensued and the referee at one stage threatened to call the game off, before relative clam was restored.
There was still time for one last nasty incident though as Ahly’s Hossam Ashour received a straight red card for hitting Zamalek’s Hani Said in the face, an unsporting end to what was often an unsporting contest.
Link:
Ahly snatch draw