Fayoum wins 2-1 away at Shaban Qena but the situation remains tense

Saturday, 27 March 2021, 3 pm local time (1 pm UTC), Shaban Moslemen Stadium, Qena, Egypt, the 19th round of the Egyptian Second Division, Group A.

After five consecutive matches without a win, Fayoum SC eventually succeeds in taking all points in their away match at Shaban Moslemen Qena, a team which looked strong a year ago and in the beginning of this season, but seems to be on a downfall in the last couple of months.

Anas Shendy (with the ball) scored the second goal for Fayoum just before the break. Source: Fayoum SC Facebook page

Fayoum started the match very determined and Ahmed Abdel Baqi scored the first goal for the visitors: 0-1 (18'). The home side tried to balance the game, but right before half time, Anas Shendy finalized in style to double the visitors' advantage: 0-2 (43').

In the second half, Shaban Qena took over the control of the match, and attacked more and more, while Fayoum defended well and counterattacked, when possible, trying to preserve the score. Abdullah Hashem eventually scored for the hosts: 1-2 (75'). In the final minutes, the tension raised a lot, but Fayoum succeeded to defend their fragile advantage until the end of the game.

Despite this crucial victory, which keeps a 4 point margin from the relegation area, there seem to be problems between the management of Fayoum SC, led by president Ali Masoud, and the management of the football team, which is from the beginning of the 2020-2021 season under the leadership of Amr Darwish, the head of their main sponsor, Uhlsport. The unfortunate events which happened at the away match against the Eastern Company attracted comments from president Ali Masoud, and the team risks to be punished further by the Disciplinary Board of the Egyptian FA. The last week unexpected defeat at home against Markaz Shabab Samasta sent other shock waves which possibly further destabilized the relationship.

While nobody really knows what happens behind the scenes (except for those involved), there are indirect hints that things are not functioning well. One such example is the new Fayoum SC Facebook page, which has been very active whenever Fayoum played, and from the beginning of this season provided lots of information, photos and data from each game, even when Fayoum lost. However, this time they are absolutely silent on their Facebook page, not even the game or the score is mentioned. The last post is a week old and is related to the previous game, against M.S. Samasta, at home.

In the next round, Fayoum SC will have a very difficult match at home, against second classified El Minya. In the first half of the season, Fayoum really surprised everyone by winning 1-0 away at El Minya, which was El Minya's only defeat for a long time. Now the situation is very much the same: Fayoum needs the points to stay away from relegation, while El Minya would like to get closer to the leaders, the Eastern Company. Fayoum proved that they can play their best when they meet the good teams of the group, let's just hope that things would not degenerate as in the case of their match against the Eastern Company.

Full results, table and fixtures:

Round 19 (27 March 2021)

 

El Minya – Beni Suef 2-2

Telephonat – Asyut Petroleum 2-1

Eastern Company – Dayrout 2-2

M.S. Samasta – Media 1-0

Shaban Qena – Fayoum 1-2

Aluminium – KIMA Aswan 2-0

Asyut Cement – Tahta 2-1

Sohag – Qena 1-1

 

Table

 

1	Eastern Company	19	12	5	2	27-15	41	Promotion to the Premier League
2	El Minya	19	10	6	3	22-13	36
3	Aluminium	19	10	5	4	26-15	35
4	Beni Suef	19	9	6	4	22-17	33
5	Dayrout	19	7	8	4	34-24	29
6	Media	19	6	9	4	22-15	27
7	Sohag	19	6	7	6	13-12	25
8	Qena	19	6	7	6	17-19	25
9	Fayoum	19	6	6	7	15-16	24
10	Asyut Petroleum	19	4	9	6	12-14	21
11	M.S. Samasta	19	5	6	8	14-17	21
12	Telephonat	19	4	8	7	11-13	20
13	Shaban Qena	19	4	8	7	12-17	20	Relegation to the Third Division
14	KIMA Aswan	19	3	8	8	12-22	17	Relegation to the Third Division
15	Asyut Cement	19	2	8	9	16-28	14	Relegation to the Third Division
16	Tahta	19	2	6	11	16-34	12	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 20 (3 April 2021)

 

KIMA Aswan – Eastern Company

Sohag – Telephonat

Asyut Petroleum – Aluminium

Beni Suef – Asyut Cement

Fayoum – El Minya

Media – Shaban Qena

Qena – Tahta

Dayrout – M.S. Samasta