Third consecutive win for Fayoum: 2-1 over Asyut Cement

Monday, 28 December 2020, 2.30 pm local time (12.30 pm UTC), Alassiouty Sport Resort, Fayoum, Egypt, the 6th round of the Egyptian Second Division, Group A.

Fayoum SC starting line-up. Source: Fayoum SC Facebook page

Fayoum registers the third win in a row, a feat which rarely happened to a team that was mostly involved in the lower part of the table lately. Last time when this happened was in 2019, when Fayoum won the last two matches of the 2018-2019 season, which made sure they remained in the league, and the first match of the 2019-2020 season. However, the third match was several months apart from the previous two, as they were played in two different seasons. The last time when Fayoum recorded third consecutive wins in the same season was in February 2016, so almost five years ago. And they may even improve on that, because their next match is away at Tahta, which had a rather bad start of the season.
The match against Asyut Cement was nevertheless a difficult one. The visitors played courageously and even dominated large parts of the game, but Fayoum players knew how to defend and to counterattack. The match was very much a physical combat, and no less than 13 yellow cards have been shown (no red card though).
In the first half, after a surprisingly strong start of Asyut Cement, Fayoum gradually took over the control of the game and eventually scored: one of Cement defenders lost the ball in a very dangerous area, Karim Al Shafei crossed and Ahmed Hassan simply sent the ball in from short range: 1-0 (26'). Each team had one great goal opportunity before the end of the first half, but the goalkeepers prevented the goal.

Ahmed Hassan gave the lead to Fayoum in the first half. Source: Fayoum SC Facebook page

In the second half, Asyut Cement looked for an equalizer, but the hosts defended well, and goalkeeper Mostafa Dida saved several difficult shots. Fayoum doubled their advantage after a corner, as Adham Hassan's header went in: 2-0 (76'). Fayoum players seemed to have lost their concentration in the final minutes and were immediately penalized, as the referee awarded the visitors a penalty for a nonsensical foul at the edge of the area, on the side. Ahmed Suleiman transformed the penalty: 2-1 (85'), and Asyut Cement were again back in the game with a few minutes of play, when tensions and emotions reached a critical point on both sides. Asyut Cement pressed for an equalizer, while Anas Shendy could have scored a third goal for Fayoum, but missed from an excellent position.
Fayoum starting line-up: Mostafa Gaber "Dida" - Ahmed Saad, Mahmoud Kamal "Schmeichel", Jaber Jaber, Ahmed Abd Elhakim - Abdulrahman Adel, Hussein Khaled, Karim Al Shafei, Adham Hassan - Ahmed Hassan, Anas Muhammad Shendy. In the second half, Mohamed Mahmoud "Dunga", Mostafa Ahmed "Carlos", Mostafa Ali, Abdullah Rashed and Mahmoud Al Husseini also entered the game. Manager: Ahmed Bakri.

Anas Muhammad Shendy was again one of the best players for Fayoum, although he did not score. Source: Fayoum SC Facebook page.

In the next round, on Saturday, 2 January 2021, Fayoum will play away at Tahta, while Asyut Cement will face Media at home.
Full results, table and fixtures:

Round 6 (28 December 2020)

 

Beni Suef – Tahta 3-0

Sohag – Aluminium 2-1

Asyut Petroleum – Eastern Company 1-2

Dayrout – Shaban Qena 1-1

Media – Al Minya 1-1

Fayoum – Asyut Cement 2-1

KIMA Aswan – M.S. Samasta 2-1

Qena – Telephonat 0-0

 

Table

 

1	Eastern Company	6	4	1	1	10-8	13	Promotion to the Premier League
2	Al Minya	6	3	2	1	8-4	11
3	Sohag	6	3	2	1	5-3	11
4	Dayrout	6	3	1	2	10-7	10
5	Aluminium	6	3	1	2	9-8	10
6	Fayoum	6	3	1	2	7-6	10
7	Shaban Qena	6	2	3	1	6-5	9
8	Media	6	2	2	1	4-3	9
9	Asyut Petroleum	6	3	0	3	5-5	9
10	Qena	6	2	2	2	6-6	8
11	Beni Suef	6	2	1	3	7-7	7
12	M.S. Samasta	6	2	0	4	5-6	6
13	Telephonat	6	1	2	3	4-5	5	Relegation to the Third Division
14	KIMA Aswan	6	1	2	3	7-10	5	Relegation to the Third Division
15	Tahta	6	1	2	3	6-13	5	Relegation to the Third Division
16	Asyut Cement	6	0	3	3	5-8	3	Relegation to the Third Division

 

In case that two or more teams are equal on points, the main ranking criteria are the results of the head-to-head matches.

 

Round 7 (2 January 2021)

 

Shaban Qena – KIMA Aswan

M.S. Samasta – Asyut Petroleum

Eastern Company – Sohag

Aluminium – Telephonat

Tahta – Fayoum

Asyut Cement – Media

Al Minya – Dayrout

Beni Suef – Qena