Ismaili held Zamalek to a 2-2 draw at Cairo stadium in to get their first point in the Egyptian league from the Cairo giants since their 4-3 victory in March 2002.
Omar Gamal broke the deadlock just 4 minutes after the kick off but a double from Abdul-Halim Ali (18, 26) put the home side ahead before being caught by Hosni Abd-Rabou (70) to put an end to the long standing Zamalek domination over the past few years.
Follow up:
The score keeps Ismaili second with 55 points and Zamalek just behind with 53 points and one game in hand.
Action started very early as Mahmoud Abdul-Razeq 'Shikabala' had the first chance of scoring after only 22 seconds. Ahmed Ghanem played a long pass to put him all alone on the edge of the area trying to chip the ball over Ismaili keeper, Mohamed Fathi, who was out to face him but he missed the target by a few inches.
However, it was the visitors who opened the scoring as Omar Gamal connected with Sayed Moawad’s cross to head home as early as the fourth minute.
The men in white then pushed forward searching for the equalizer, led by the flamboyant Shikabala.
Ismaili held Zamalek to a 2-2 draw at Cairo stadium in to get their first point in the Egyptian league from the Cairo giants since their 4-3 victory in March 2002.
Omar Gamal broke the deadlock just 4 minutes after the kick off but a double from Abdul-Halim Ali (18, 26) put the home side ahead before being caught by Hosni Abd-Rabou (70) to put an end to the long standing Zamalek domination over the past few years.
The score keeps Ismaili second with 55 points and Zamalek just behind with 53 points and one game in hand.
Action started very early as Mahmoud Abdul-Razeq 'Shikabala' had the first chance of scoring after only 22 seconds. Ahmed Ghanem played a long pass to put him all alone on the edge of the area trying to chip the ball over Ismaili keeper, Mohamed Fathi, who was out to face him but he missed the target by a few inches.
However, it was the visitors who opened the scoring as Omar Gamal connected with Sayed Moawad’s cross to head home as early as the fourth minute.
The men in white then pushed forward searching for the equalizer, led by the flamboyant Shikabala.
The new Zamalek prodigy combined a mixed of dribbles to get past a few defenders before passing it to Ali all alone in the area with no problems for netting the equalizer at the 18th minute.
The home side maintained their pressure with Shikabala on the left and Mostafa Gaafar on the right as major threats on the Dervishes defense.
Once again Ali was on target as he got the better of Moatassem Salem on the right side before cutting into the area and lashing a streamer to put his team in the lead at the 26th minute.
After such a promising debut, the few spectators in the stadium lost their enthusiasm as the game lost its pace with both sides very cautious in defense.
Aware of their situation, the visitors took more risks in front with the beginning of the second half.
Talent and an excellent connection between their players Ismaili were able to dominate the game in terms of possession and forced Zamalek to get back to defense.
But Patrice Neveu men couldn’t convert their possession into chances. Except a header from Abdullah Saied and a shot from Omar Gamal, keeper Mohamed Abdul-Monsef had nothing to worry about.
At the 70th minute, substitute Mohamed Fadl tried to dribble past Wissem El Abdi but the ball went far from him to Abd-Rabou who slid in to knock the ball past Abdul-Monsef scoring a well deserved equalizer.
Henri Michel men tried to pull back but it wasn’t enough. Shikabala had a golden chance of scoring the winner as he received the ball all alone in the area but couldn’t control it and Hani Said cleared the danger.
Ismaili striker Mohamed Mohsin Abou Greisha could have scored the killer when he got through the defense, to face the keeper, with an excellent pass from Fadl but he was caught in speed by Alaa Abdul-Ghani who deflected his shot to the corner.
And at the end of the 90 minutes the score was 2-2 and each team had to go home with a point.
Related Articles: Match Report: Zamalek v Enppi 1:0 - Zamalek slim hope to catch arch-rival Ahli | Match Reports, Division 1: Zamalek - Petrojet 2-0 | Match Reports, Egypt Division 1:Tersana - Zamalek 1-4.
