The Pyramids team defeated its host Smouha, 1-0, on Tuesday, in the second round of the Egyptian Football League Cup.
This is the 14th consecutive victory for Pyramids in all competitions since the beginning of the season, with 8 consecutive victories in which they occupy the top of the Egyptian League, and four victories in the preliminary rounds of the African Champions League, in addition to two victories at the beginning of their Egyptian League Cup campaign, continuing their historic start in the current season.
Ahmed Atef “Katta” scored the only goal of the match in the 63rd minute, giving Pyramids 3 more points, strengthening their position at the top of the standings in Group Two.
Pyramids reached 6 points in first place after two rounds, while Smouha, which played its first match, remains without points in fourth place.
Pyramids will play the next round, next January, against Modern Sport, while Smouha will face National Bank.
Frenchman Christophe Galtier, coach of the NEOM team, confirmed that the victory achieved by his team came against a strong competitor and despite the difficult circumstances and absences, pointing out that the early decision and modification of the plan in the second half secured the three points, while Qayyum, assistant coach of the Al Duhail team, attributed the loss to the late start and lack of success in front of goal.
The NEOM team achieved a major victory over its guest, the Qatari team Al-Duhail, with three unanswered goals to seize the lead in the group with six points, which is the score of the Al-Duhail team itself.
NEOM coach Christophe Galtier said in the press conference: “A very important victory against a very strong team, and despite the large absences in our team, we achieved the three points, and we took advantage of the first minutes of the match by scoring two goals. At the end of the first half, we lost control of the match. We played in the second half using a 3-defender method and achieved victory by gaining possession and fortifying our defensive areas.”
He added: “Before the substitutions in the second half, Al-Duhail tried to score, but goalkeeper Maximano excelled and prevented Al-Duhail from scoring, and Saeed Bin Rahma’s third goal decided the match once and for all.”
Regarding the pause period, Galtier said: “Currently we have a major pause, and some of the players will go to represent their countries’ teams, and I hope they return without injuries.” In response to Asharq Al-Awsat about the team’s program after the cancellation of the 13th round and the international break, Galité said: “The schedule has not been completely clarified due to the fact that the league matches have not been programmed yet. A 10-day rest has been given to the players, after which we will prepare to compete in all tournaments, and a strong confrontation awaits us against Al-Duhail on November 24 in Doha. We will try to recover Valentin Fada, Amadou Kone and Alaa Hajji, and we will follow their health conditions to participate with the team.”
He continued: “Any coach in the world does not have a vacation because he is in constant contact with all the technical staff to follow up on the programs prepared for the players during downtime.”
For his part, Qayyum, assistant coach of the Al-Duhail team, said in the press conference: “We did not expect this harsh result. We tried to win, but we were not successful in the result.” Qayyum added: “We came to play the same way we play in the league, but NEOM did not give us the opportunity, especially since we were not in our day. We tried to reach the goal, but we did not score. The first two goals helped NEOM win the three points.”
He continued: “We put together the best suitable lineup, but NEOM entered at full strength. We rested a large number of players and entered with more than one substitute player, and NEOM achieved the three points. The reason for coach Jamal Belmadi’s absence from the press conference is great fatigue due to the directions in the match.”
Englishman Ollie Watkins led his Saudi team, Al Hilal, to victory over its guest, Shabab Al Ahly, UAE, with two unanswered goals, on Tuesday, in the fourth round of the league stage in the AFC Elite Champions League, inflicting on the UAE team its first loss in the tournament.
Al Hilal regained its victorious tone after its loss to Qatar's Al-Shamal in the last round, raising its score to 9 points from 4 matches, and advancing to second place in the Al-Gharb region standings on goal difference, while Shabab Al-Ahly's score froze at 9 points, and fell to fourth place, behind Al-Ain, which leads with the full mark with 12 points.
Al Hilal did not wait long to open the registration; Watkins succeeded in scoring just 6 minutes after the start of the match, benefiting from a distinguished individual effort by Senegalese defender Kalidou Koulibaly, who penetrated into the penalty area before passing the ball to the English striker, who shot it into the bottom corner of the goal.
Al-Ahly youth tried to return to the atmosphere of confrontation, and the Iranian Sardar Azmoun almost equalized after a pass from his colleague Mohamed Jumaa, but he failed to control the ball, and it easily reached the Moroccan Yassine Bounou, Al Hilal’s goalkeeper.
At the beginning of the second half, Watkins returned to confirm the superiority of the hosts, after receiving a perfect cross pass from Frenchman Theo Hernandez, which he sent from beyond the halfway line, putting the ball with one touch over goalkeeper Matheus Henrique, scoring his second personal goal and his team's second goal.
The Emirati team did not give up; Azmoun was able to score against Al Hilal, but the referee canceled the goal due to offside.
In the 54th minute, Bono excelled in blocking a powerful shot fired by Nemanja Maksimovic from the outskirts of the penalty area, preserving his team’s lead.
After about an hour of play, defender Ali Lagami almost accidentally scored against Al Hilal while trying to clear a cross, but Bono intervened at the right moment and cleared the ball before it crossed the goal line.
Shabab Al-Ahly continued its attempts to reduce the difference during the last minutes, but Al Hilal’s defense and goalkeeper succeeded in keeping the net clean until the final whistle.
With this result, Al Hilal stopped Shabab Al Ahly’s series of victories in the continental championship at 3 consecutive matches, and strengthened its position in the race to qualify for the knockout rounds.
