After a winless run of five matches, Fayoum won 1-0 over Al Minya in the seventh round of the Egyptian Second Division, Group A

Sunday, the 1st of December 2019, 14:30 local time (12:30 UTC), Alassiouty Sports Resort, Fayoum, Egypt, the 7th round of the Egyptian Second Division, Group A.

The new head coach of Fayoum SC, Mohamed Youssef, started his mission in the previous week, when Fayoum were defeated 1-0 away at Sohag. However, in the first match played at "home" (Alassiouty Sports Resort is not really the home ground for Fayoum, but works at Fayoum Stadium seem to take forever to be completed), Mohamed Youssef succeeded to motivate his players and to bring out the best in the field to win the game, 1-0 over Al Minya.

 Mohamed Youssef (in black) prepared well the match and Fayoum got the much needed points.

The game was not an easy one. Fayoum dominated quite clearly from the beginning, and had several opportunities in the first half, especially by Ahmed Abdel Baqi (10'), Mohamed Refaat (30') and Adham Hassan (42'). However, the visitors proved dangerous on the counterattack, and Amr Othman missed a good chance in the 33rd minute.

In the second half, the home side increased the pressure, but left wider spaces in their defence, so Al Minya players had a couple of chances, by Abdulaziz Al Shaer (53') and Badawi Ashour (69'). Still, the biggest opportunities belonged to the hosts, who pressed continuously and this has eventually paid off: after missing a chance in the 60th minute, Amr El Fayoumi succeeded to break the deadlock with a wonderful header: 1-0 (71').

The game changed completely after the goal, as the visitors tried to equalize and Fayoum defended their advantage. Al Minya had the chance to equalize right after the goal, but a cross by Mohammed Samara was headed to the post by Badawi Ashour (74'). Fayoum could have also scored on the break, but there were no more goals, and Fayoum registered a deserved and highly-fought victory.

Fayoum: Ahmed Al-Beheiri - Jaber Jaber, Zakaria Abdel Alim, Mohamed Eid, Ahmed Saad, Ahmed Emad, Karim Al Shafei, Adham Hassan, Mohamed Refaat (Essam Omran 55'), Amr El Fayoumi, Ahmed Abdel Baqi (Karim Sayed 78'). Head coach: Mohamed Youssef.

Al Minya: Mohamed Hassanein - Barsoum Mahrous, Mohamed Adam (Wael Ali 78'), Ayman Nasser, Abbas Mustafa (Seiko 24'), Mustafa Shabaan Al-Shebkashi, Amr Veron, Ahmed Essam (Badawi Ashour 57'), Mohamed Samara, Abdulaziz Al Shaer, Amr Othman. Head coach: Tarek El Sayed.

Referee: Mahmoud Desouki.

Yellow cards: Ahmed Abdel Baqi (44') - Amr Othman (6'), Abdulaziz Al Shaer (30'), Badawi Ashour (72').

With this result, the two teams are tied, each having 7 points each, but they are both below the relegation line. In the next round, Fayoum will play away (on the 11th of December) at promotion favourites Beni Suef, former team of head coach Mohamed Youssef, while Al Minya will play at home against Telephonat Beni Suef.

Full results, table and fixtures:

Round 7 (1 December 2019)

Telephonat – Sohag 0-2

Tahta – Aluminium 0-2

National Bank – Shaban Qena 0-0

Media – Asyut Petroleum 1-1

Fayoum – Al Minya 1-0

Beni Suef – Dayrout – postponed for 7 December

Table

1	National Bank	7	4	3	0	10-3	15	Promotion to Premier League
2	Beni Suef	6	4	1	1	9-2	13
3	Telephonat	7	4	1	2	9-7	13
4	Shaban Qena	7	4	1	2	6-6	13
5	Aluminium	7	4	0	3	7-5	12
6	Asyut Petroleum	7	2	2	3	7-7	8
7	Sohag	7	2	2	3	6-6	8
8	Media	7	1	4	2	7-8	7
9	Al Minya	7	2	1	4	5-7	7	Relegation to the Third Division
10	Fayoum	7	2	1	4	3-6	7	Relegation to the Third Division
11	Dayrout	6	1	2	3	6-11	5	Relegation to the Third Division
12	Tahta	7	0	4	3	3-10	4	Relegation to the Third Division

Round 8 (8-11 December 2019)

Sohag – National Bank

Al Minya – Telephonat

Shaban Qena – Tahta

Beni Suef – Fayoum

Aluminium – Media

Asyut Petroleum – Dayrout