Fayoum SC still unbeaten, almost sure of the second place

El Minya SC - Fayoum SC 1-1 (1-0)

Mostafa "Crouch" 38' - Karim Rashad 81'

Friday, 8 March 2024, 3 pm local time (1 pm UTC), El Minya Stadium, El Minya, Egypt, 16th round of the Egyptian Second Division B, Group B.

The two teams - El Minya (in white) and Fayoum (in red) and the referees before the start of the game. Photo source: El Minya Facebook page

El Minya and Fayoum played an interesting and balanced game right before the start of the Ramadan, which will provide a well-deserved break to the competition as well, although there are only two rounds to be played, and some teams, like Fayoum, have only match to play in this season, but this will only happen in April.

Fayoum, although unbeaten so far this season, cannot move higher than the second place, and a draw would have almost certainly secured this position at the end of the season. To be 100% sure of the second place, they will need at least a draw in their last match of the season, at home against bottom of the table Maghagha. El Minya were also looking to climb in the table, and they were not far from winning the game.

In the first half, the home side played more offensively, although most of the game was disputed in the centre of the field, with very few actions close to the boxes.

Fayoum players rarely got closer to the target in the first half. Photo source: El Minya Facebook page

Both teams tried to control the midfield, and the opportunities only arrived towards the end of the first half. Actually, the first corner kick for El Minya led to the first goal: the cross was high in the box, a group of players attacked the ball which was headed (un)luckily to Mostafa "Crouch" who had the time to control the ball and to place his shot from close range: 1-0 (38').

El Minya enthusiastically resumed their attacks, but Fayoum gave a good reply, and in the final minute of the first half, a long ball by Mahmoud Arafat passed beyond the defenders, and Karim Rashad had the opportunity to head it in, but the goalkeeper saved (45').

El Minya had some dangerous set pieces in the second half as well. Photo source: El Minya Facebook page

In the second half, the game was again balanced, but gradually El Minya made a step back, and Fayoum took control of the game. The intensity of their attacks increased as the time went by, and opportunities emerged, but Karim Rashad missed a good chance to equalize (62'). Fayoum manager Saaed Sobhi also made several changes, which clearly made an impact, improving the offensive game.

Eventually, this pressure paid off. A cross from Abdullah Magdy from the left side found Karim Rashad unmarked in the box, and this time he head the ball home, to the near post: 1-1 (81').

In the final minutes, both teams looked for the winning goal, El Minya missing several good chances in stoppage time, but neither were able to score and the match ended 1-1.

The game was broadcasted live on El Minya Facebook page: First half  Second half.

Fayoum: Ahmed Moawad - Mahmoud Ashraf, Ahmed Abdelaziz, Nabil Ismail (Mohamed Morsi 90'+5'), Mahmoud Arafat - Mohannad Ahmad Zahran (Taher Saad 60'), El Sayed Lotfy, Mahmoud Sami (Abdullah Magdy 73') - Karim Rashad, Mohamad Mostafa (Ali Abdel Aziz 60'), Yassin Ali (Hamad Hassan 73'). Manager: Saaed Sobhi.

Full results, table and fixtures:

 

Round 16 (8 March 2024)

 

Egypt Stars – Telephonat 0-1

El Minya – Fayoum 1-1

Tamya – Al Wasta 1-3

Tersana – Beni Mazar 3-0

Maghagha bye

 

Table

 

1	Tersana	15	12	3	0	33-4	39	Promoted to the Second Division
2	Fayoum	15	6	9	0	15-6	27
3	Egypt Stars	14	6	3	5	18-8	21
4	El Minya	14	5	6	3	17-14	21
5	Al Wasta	14	3	6	5	14-17	15
6	Tamya	14	4	3	7	14-26	15
7	Telephonat	14	4	1	9	11-22	13
8	Beni Mazar	14	2	4	8	14-25	10
9	Maghagha	14	1	7	6	8-20	10	Relegation to the Third Division

 

In case that two or more teams are equal on points, the goal difference is the main ranking criterion.

 

Round 17 (April 2024)

 

Fayoum – Maghagha

Al Wasta – El Minya

Telephonat – Tamya

Beni Mazar – Egypt Stars

Tersana bye