Al Ahly were held to a 1-1 draw against Zamalek SC in the 21st fixture of the Egyptian Premier League played at Cairo International Stadium on Monday.

Both teams came into the Cairo Derby with high hopes of capturing the three points.

Salah Mohsen gave Al Ahly the lead in the 73rd minute of the game after dribbling past Mohamed Awad, Zamalek’s goalkeeper. However, the Red Eagles’ lead didn’t last long, as Ferjani Sassi, Zamalek’s midfielder, was able to equalize the in the 79th minute of the game.

Al Ahly, started the first half of the encounter with high intensity to take the early lead but were equally met by Zamalek’s impressive high press.

It was not until the third minute when Sherif managed to find his first opening in the game after receiving the ball in the opposition’s final third. However, his shot failed to find the net.

In the 20th minute of the game, El Shenawy made a brilliant double save, as he pushed Shikabala’s ball away from the net before denying Achraf Bencharki from scoring the opening goal.

The Reds had a crucial chance in the 33rd minute of the first half when Sherif beat Zamalek defender Mahmoud El Wensh, and passed the ball to El Shahat whose shot hit into the post.

The final minutes of the first half passed by with both teams failing to take the lead as Amin Omar, the game’s referee, blew his half-time whistle.

Mosimane used his bench in the early minutes of the second half when he replaced El Shahat with Salah Mohsen.

The Red Eagles were about to take the lead after five minutes from the start of the second half when Afsha’s pass found Sherif whose attempt was saved by Awad.

In the 73rd minute of the encounter, Salah Mohsen rose up to the occasion as he passed by Awad to score the opening goal of the game.

Mosimane once again used his bench in the 78th minute of the game, replacing Taher Mohamed Taher and Mohamed Sherif with Walid Soliman and Marwan Mohsen.

A few minutes later, Ferjani Sassi, was able to restore parity for the White Knights after his shot found the net.

Both teams were looking to win the game in the final minutes but the defenders stood their ground. The referee’s final whistle came to announce a draw at Cairo International Stadium.

Soka25east.com