Egyptian Second Division (Group A) 2020-2021
|
Season |
2020-2021 |
|
Dates |
26 November 2020 – 3 July 2021 |
|
Champions |
Eastern Company |
|
Promoted |
Eastern Company |
|
Relegated |
Tahta M.S. Samasta Shaban M. Qena Asyut Cement |
|
Matches played |
240 |
|
Goals scored |
491 (2.05 goals/match on average) |
|
Biggest home win |
Media – Qena 5-0 (round 11, 30 January 2021) Eastern Company – Tahta 5-0 (round 30, 3 July 2021) |
|
Biggest away win |
M.S. Samasta – Qena 0-5 (round 27, 12 June 2021) |
|
Highest scoring |
Fayoum – Tahta 6-2 (round 22, 17 May 2021) |
|
Longest winning run |
Eastern Company (6 matches, rounds 6-11) |
|
Longest unbeaten run |
El Minya (14 matches, rounds 17-30) |
|
Longest winless run |
Asyut Cement (15 matches, rounds 1-15) |
|
Longest losing run |
Tahta (9 matches, rounds 22-30) |
Competition details and format
The Egyptian Second Division (sometimes called Premier League B) represents the second tier in the Egyptian football system and is organized by the Egyptian Football Association. The 2020-2021 Egyptian Second Division was the 41th season since its establishment in 1977. On the 26th of October 2020, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Egyptian FA cancelled the relegation from the Second Division at the end of the 2019-2020 season, and allowed the promotion of all 12 winners of the 12 Third Division groups. Therefore, the number of teams increased from 36 in 2019-2020 to 48 in 2020-2021. This increase came after several consecutive seasons when the number of teams was gradually decreased in the Second Division, with a view of creating a professional single group (pool) in the Second Division. It is actually a return to the situation of the 2017-2018 season, with 48 teams, divided into 3 groups of 16 teams.
The teams have been distributed according to their geographical location: Group A included the teams from Upper and Middle Egypt, as well as two teams from Cairo area (Media and Eastern Company), Group B – the teams from Cairo and the North-East and Group C – the teams from Alexandria and the North-West.
Just like in the two previous seasons, no teams relegated from the Premier League have been included in Group A. To compensate the numbers, 5 of the promoted teams (out of 12) from the Third Division have been placed in Group A (instead of 4), including one from Cairo.
Same as before, the winners of each group gain promotion to the Premier League without any promotion play-offs. Four teams would be relegated to the Third Division from each group. The competition format was established as a double (home and away) round-robin championship, each team playing all other teams twice, once at home and once away, a total of 30 rounds. In Group A, the competition started on the 26th of November 2020 and ended on 3 July 2021. Games were played on Saturdays or throughout the week, in the afternoon, and no spectators were usually allowed according to the decision of the Egyptian FA.
In Group A, the main contenders for promotion were considered the runners-up of the last two seasons, Beni Suef, as well as Aluminium, which fought for promotion until the last round in the previous season. However, Cairo-based newly-promoted Eastern Company (also known as El Sharkeyah Lelddukhan) started the season very well with several wins in a row, which drew a similarity to the previous season, when a comparable situation occurred with the National Bank of Egypt, which eventually promoted. El Minya, Dayrout and Media also started very well and might have become candidates for promotion, along with Aluminium and Beni Suef. At half-season, Eastern Company had 5 points ahead of second classified El Minya. In the second half of the season, the Eastern Company initially increased their gap, but then they had a poor end of the season and only maintained a minimal advantage towards the end. Aluminium, on the other hand, had a spectacular come-back in the second half of the season, but lost unexpectedly to lower classified teams such as Samasta and Asyut Cement, allowing Eastern Company to remain top of the table. El Minya also stayed close, but registered many draws. Before the last round, the Eastern Company had two points ahead of Aluminium and El Minya, and needed to win to be mathematically promoted. The Eastern Company won 5-0 over the last classified Tahta and promoted to the Egyptian Premier League for the first time. Aluminium came second and El Minya third.
In terms of relegation, at the end of the first half of the competition, newly-promoted Asyut Cement, KIMA Aswan and Merkaz Shaban Samasta were classified on relegation positions, along with Tahta. Telephonat Beni Suef, Asyut Petroleum, Shaban Qena and Qena were only slightly above the relegation area, while Fayoum and Sohag were in comfortable mid-table positions. Tahta became the first team to be mathematically relegated with four rounds to go, losing 2-1 away at Asyut Petroleum. They also had a very poor end of the season, losing all the final nine matches. Six other teams fought to avoid the remaining three relegation spots: Asyut Cement, Merkaz Shaban Samasta, KIMA Aswan, Shaban Qena, Telephonat Beni Suef and Qena. The situation remained uncertain until the last round. Samasta and Asyut Cement played against each other in the last round, but only one of them could avoid relegation if both Telephonat and Shaban Qena had lost. Asyut Cement won but were not able to avoid relegation despite having a great second half of the season, because Telephonat Beni Suef won 1-0 over Fayoum. The fourth relegated team was Shaban Qena, which only drew 1-1 against El Minya. They had a poor second half of the season. A win in their last game would have secured their stay in the Second Division, because they had a better head-to-head record against Telephonat. Their draw meant that Telephonat (which won) remain in the Second Division. Qena and KIMA Aswan played against each other and both needed a draw to be mathematically out of trouble, which happened. KIMA Aswan, which were most of the season in a relegation position, recorded four wins and two draws in their last six games, to remain for another year in the Second Division.
Team changes from the 2019-2020
To the Second Division
Promoted from the Third Division
KIMA Aswan
Qena
Asyut Cement
M.S. Samasta
Eastern Company
Relegated from the Premier League
None
From the Second Division
Promoted to the Premier League
National Bank of Egypt
Relegated to the Third Division
None
Teams
|
Team |
Home town |
Stadium |
2019-2020 |
|
Beni Suef SC |
Beni Suef |
Beni Suef |
2nd in the Second Division, Gr. A |
|
Aluminium |
Nag Hammâdi |
Aluminium |
3rd in the Second Division, Gr. A |
|
Shaban M. Qena |
Qena |
Shaban Qena |
4th in the Second Division, Gr. A |
|
Asyut Petroleum |
Asyut |
Asyut University |
5th in the Second Division, Gr. A |
|
El Minya SC |
Minya |
Minya University |
6th in the Second Division, Gr. A |
|
Telephonat |
Beni Suef |
Alassiouty Sport Resort |
7th in the Second Division, Gr. A |
|
Sohag SC |
Sohag |
Sohag |
8th in the Second Division, Gr. A |
|
Media SC |
6th of October |
Media |
9th in the Second Division, Gr. A |
|
Fayoum SC |
Fayoum |
Alassiouty Sport Resort |
10th in the Second Division, Gr. A |
|
Dayrout SC |
Dayrout |
Dayrout |
11th in the Second Division, Gr. A |
|
Tahta SC |
Tahta |
Tahta |
12th in the Second Division, Gr. A |
|
KIMA Aswan |
Aswan |
KIMA Aswan |
1st in the Third Division, Gr. A |
|
Qena SC |
Qena |
Qena |
1st in the Third Division, Gr. B |
|
Asyut Cement |
Asyut |
Asyut Cement |
1st in the Third Division, Gr. C |
|
M. Shaban Samasta |
Samasta |
M.S. Samasta |
1st in the Third Division, Gr. D |
|
Eastern Company |
Giza |
Eastern Company |
1st in the Third Division, Gr. E |
Location of teams in Group A (Muslim Youths = Shaban Qena). Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020-21_Egyptian_Second_Division
Round 1 (26 November 2020)
Eastern Company – Beni Suef 2-1
Telephonat – Media 1-1
Aluminium – Fayoum 1-1
Sohag – Dayrout 1-0
El Minya – Qena 2-1
Asyut Petroleum – KIMA Aswan 2-1
Shaban Qena – Asyut Cement 1-0
M.S. Samasta – Tahta 3-0
Round 2 (2 December 2020)
Beni Suef – M.S. Samasta 1-0
Asyut Cement – El Minya 0-0
Dayrout – Telephonat 2-1
Media – Aluminium 1-0
Fayoum – Eastern Company 1-2
KIMA Aswan – Sohag 0-0
Tahta – Shaban Qena 1-1
Qena – Asyut Petroleum 1-0
Round 3 (9 December 2020)
Eastern Company – Media 1-0
Telephonat – KIMA Aswan 2-0
Aluminium – Dayrout 3-2
Asyut Cement – Qena 1-2
Sohag – Asyut Petroleum 0-1
El Minya – Tahta 3-1
Shaban Qena – Beni Suef 2-1
M.S. Samasta – Fayoum 1-0
Round 4 (16 December 2020)
Beni Suef – El Minya 0-2
Asyut Petroleum – Telephonat 1-0
Dayrout – Eastern Company 3-1
Media – M.S. Samasta 1-0
Fayoum – Shaban Qena 2-1
KIMA Aswan – Aluminium 2-3
Tahta – Asyut Cement 2-2
Qena – Sohag 1-1
Round 5 (22 December 2020)
Eastern Company – KIMA Aswan 2-2
Telephonat – Sohag 0-1
Aluminium – Asyut Petroleum 1-0
Asyut Cement – Beni Suef 1-1
El Minya – Fayoum 0-1
Shaban Qena – Media 0-0
Tahta – Qena 2-1
M.S. Samasta – Dayrout 0-2
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 – El Minya 1-1
Fayoum – Asyut Cement 2-1
KIMA Aswan – M.S. Samasta 2-1
Qena – Telephonat 0-0
Round 7 (2 January 2021)
Shaban Qena – KIMA Aswan 1-1
M.S. Samasta – Asyut Petroleum 0-0
Eastern Company – Sohag 1-0
Aluminium – Telephonat 2-0
Tahta – Fayoum 0-1
Asyut Cement – Media 1-2
El Minya – Dayrout 1-0
Beni Suef – Qena 1-0
Round 8 (9-10 January 2021)
Qena – Aluminium 0-2
Sohag – M.S. Samasta 1-1
Asyut Petroleum – Shaban Qena 0-0
KIMA Aswan – El Minya 0-1
Dayrout – Asyut Cement 5-1
Media – Tahta 3-0
Fayoum – Beni Suef 0-1
Telephonat – Eastern Company 0-1
Round 9 (16 January 2021)
Asyut Cement – KIMA Aswan 0-1
El Minya – Asyut Petroleum 1-0
Shaban Qena – Sohag 1-0
M.S. Samasta – Telephonat 0-0
Eastern Company – Aluminium 2-0
Beni Suef – Media 1-1
Tahta – Dayrout 2-2
Fayoum – Qena 0-0
Round 10 (23 January 2021)
KIMA Aswan – Tahta 0-1
Asyut Petroleum – Asyut Cement 1-1
Sohag – El Minya 1-0
Telephonat – Shaban Qena 0-0
Aluminium – M.S. Samasta 0-0
Media – Fayoum 1-1
Dayrout – Beni Suef 1-1
Qena – Eastern Company 0-2
Round 11 (29-30 January 2021)
M.S. Samasta – Eastern Company 1-2
Beni Suef – KIMA Aswan 1-1
Tahta – Asyut Petroleum 1-1
Asyut Cement – Sohag 0-0
El Minya – Telephonat 1-0
Shaban Qena – Aluminium 0-0
Fayoum – Dayrout 2-3
Media – Qena 5-0
Round 12 (9 February 2021)
Qena – M.S. Samasta 2-0
Eastern Company – Shaban Qena 0-0
Aluminium – El Minya 2-2
Telephonat – Asyut Cement 1-1
Sohag – Tahta 0-0
Asyut Petroleum – Beni Suef 0-0
KIMA Aswan – Fayoum 0-0
Dayrout – Media 2-1
Round 13 (13 February 2021)
Fayoum – Asyut Petroleum 1-0
Beni Suef – Sohag 2-1
Tahta – Telephonat 0-1
Asyut Cement – Aluminium 0-1
El Minya – Eastern Company 0-0
Shaban Qena – M.S. Samasta 0-1
Dayrout – Qena 2-2
Media – KIMA Aswan 1-1 – played on 18 February 2021
Round 14 (20-22 February 2021)
Shaban Qena – Qena 0-1
M.S. Samasta – El Minya 0-1
Eastern Company – Asyut Cement 2-0
Aluminium – Tahta 3-0
Telephonat – Beni Suef 2-0
Sohag – Fayoum 1-0
Asyut Petroleum – Media 1-1
KIMA Aswan – Dayrout 0-3
Round 15 (27-28 February 2021)
Beni Suef – Aluminium 1-0
Asyut Cement – M.S. Samasta 2-2
El Minya – Shaban Qena 2-0
Dayrout – Asyut Petroleum 2-2
Fayoum – Telephonat 0-0
Tahta – Eastern Company 2-3
Qena – KIMA Aswan 0-0
Media – Sohag 2-1
Table at half-season
|
1 |
Eastern Company |
15 |
11 |
3 |
1 |
23-11 |
36 |
Promotion to the Premier League |
|
2 |
El Minya |
15 |
9 |
4 |
2 |
17-7 |
31 |
|
|
3 |
Dayrout |
15 |
7 |
5 |
3 |
30-19 |
26 |
|
|
4 |
Media |
15 |
6 |
7 |
2 |
21-11 |
25 |
|
|
5 |
Aluminium |
15 |
7 |
4 |
4 |
19-13 |
25 |
|
|
6 |
Beni Suef |
15 |
6 |
5 |
4 |
15-13 |
23 |
|
|
7 |
Fayoum |
15 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
12-12 |
20 |
|
|
8 |
Sohag |
15 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
10-10 |
20 |
|
|
9 |
Shaban Qena |
15 |
3 |
8 |
4 |
8-10 |
17 |
|
|
10 |
Qena |
15 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
11-18 |
17 |
|
|
11 |
Asyut Petroleum |
15 |
3 |
7 |
5 |
10-12 |
16 |
|
|
12 |
Telephonat |
15 |
3 |
6 |
6 |
8-10 |
15 |
|
|
13 |
M.S. Samasta |
15 |
3 |
5 |
7 |
10-14 |
14 |
Relegation to the Third Division |
|
14 |
KIMA Aswan |
15 |
2 |
7 |
6 |
11-18 |
13 |
Relegation to the Third Division |
|
15 |
Tahta |
15 |
2 |
5 |
8 |
12-27 |
11 |
Relegation to the Third Division |
|
16 |
Asyut Cement |
15 |
0 |
7 |
8 |
11-23 |
7 |
Relegation to the Third Division |
Round 16 (6 March 2021)
Beni Suef – Eastern Company 2-1
Media – Telephonat 0-0
Fayoum – Aluminium 0-0
Dayrout – Sohag 0-0
Qena – El Minya 2-0
KIMA Aswan – Asyut Petroleum 0-0
Asyut Cement – Shaban Qena 2-0
Tahta – M.S. Samasta 1-1
Round 17 (13 March 2021)
M.S. Samasta – Beni Suef 0-1
El Minya – Asyut Cement 1-1
Telephonat – Dayrout 1-1
Aluminium – Media 3-1
Eastern Company – Fayoum 1-0
Sohag – KIMA Aswan 2-0
Shaban Qena – Tahta 2-1
Asyut Petroleum – Qena 0-0
Round 18 (20 March 2021)
Media – Eastern Company 0-0
KIMA Aswan – Telephonat 1-0
Dayrout – Aluminium 1-2
Qena – Asyut Cement 3-0
Asyut Petroleum – Sohag 1-0
Tahta – El Minya 1-2
Beni Suef – Shaban Qena 2-1
Fayoum – M.S. Samasta 1-2
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
Round 20 (3 April 2021)
KIMA Aswan – Eastern Company 1-2
Sohag – Telephonat 1-0
Asyut Petroleum – Aluminium 1-0
Beni Suef – Asyut Cement 1-0
Media – Shaban Qena 2-1
Qena – Tahta 2-1
Dayrout – M.S. Samasta 3-1
Fayoum – El Minya 0-0 – played on 7 April 2021
Round 21 (10-11 April 2021)
Tahta – Beni Suef 2-0
Aluminium – Sohag 2-1
Eastern Company – Asyut Petroleum 1-1
Shaban Qena – Dayrout 2-1
M.S. Samasta – KIMA Aswan 0-0
Telephonat – Qena 1-0
Asyut Cement – Fayoum 2-0
El Minya – Media 1-1
Round 22 (17-18 May 2021)
Fayoum – Tahta 6-2
KIMA Aswan – Shaban Qena 1-0
Asyut Petroleum – M.S. Samasta 1-1
Sohag – Eastern Company 1-2
Telephonat – Aluminium 1-2
Media – Asyut Cement 1-0
Dayrout – El Minya 1-3
Qena – Beni Suef 0-2
Round 23 (22 May 2021)
Aluminium – Qena 1-0
M.S. Samasta – Sohag 1-1
Shaban Qena – Asyut Petroleum 0-1
El Minya – KIMA Aswan 1-1
Asyut Cement – Dayrout 3-1
Tahta – Media 2-3
Beni Suef – Fayoum 0-0
Eastern Company – Telephonat 2-3
Round 24 (29 May 2021)
KIMA Aswan – Asyut Cement 2-3
Asyut Petroleum – El Minya 0-1
Sohag – Shaban Qena 0-0
Telephonat – M.S. Samasta 0-0
Aluminium – Eastern Company 2-1
Media – Beni Suef 2-1
Dayrout – Tahta 1-0
Qena – Fayoum 1-2
Round 25 (1 June 2021)
Tahta – KIMA Aswan 1-4
Asyut Cement – Asyut Petroleum 0-1
El Minya – Sohag 1-0
Shaban Qena – Telephonat 1-0
Fayoum – Media 1-0
Beni Suef – Dayrout 0-1
Eastern Company – Qena 2-0
M.S. Samasta – Aluminium 1-0 – played again on 8 June 2021, initially 2-2
Round 26 (5 June 2021)
Eastern Company – M.S. Samasta 4-1
KIMA Aswan – Beni Suef 2-0
Asyut Petroleum – Tahta 2-1
Sohag – Asyut Cement 1-0
Telephonat – El Minya 2-2
Aluminium – Shaban Qena 1-0
Dayrout – Fayoum 0-2
Qena – Media 1-2
Round 27 (12 June 2021)
M.S. Samasta – Qena 0-5
Shaban Qena – Eastern Company 2-1
El Minya – Aluminium 0-0
Asyut Cement – Telephonat 1-0
Tahta – Sohag 0-1
Beni Suef – Asyut Petroleum 0-0
Fayoum – KIMA Aswan 1-1
Media – Dayrout 1-0
Round 28 (19 June 2021)
Asyut Petroleum – Fayoum 1-1
Sohag – Beni Suef 0-0
Telephonat – Tahta 3-1
Aluminium – Asyut Cement 1-2
Eastern Company – El Minya 2-2
M.S. Samasta – Shaban Qena 0-0
Qena – Dayrout 2-1
KIMA Aswan – Media 2-0
Round 29 (26 June 2021)
Qena – Shaban Qena 1-1
El Minya – M.S. Samasta 4-2
Asyut Cement – Eastern Company 1-1
Tahta – Aluminium 1-3
Beni Suef – Telephonat 2-2
Fayoum – Sohag 2-1
Media – Asyut Petroleum 0-2
Dayrout – KIMA Aswan 0-1
Round 30 (3 July 2021)
Aluminium – Beni Suef 2-0
M.S. Samasta – Asyut Cement 0-1
Shaban Qena – El Minya 1-1
Asyut Petroleum – Dayrout 4-2
Telephonat – Fayoum 1-0
Eastern Company – Tahta 5-0
KIMA Aswan – Qena 0-0
Sohag – Media 2-1
Final table
|
1 |
Eastern Company (P) |
30 |
17 |
8 |
5 |
50-29 |
59 |
Promoted to the Premier League |
|
2 |
Aluminium |
30 |
17 |
6 |
7 |
40-23 |
57 |
|
|
3 |
El Minya |
30 |
14 |
13 |
3 |
38-23 |
55 |
|
|
4 |
Media |
30 |
12 |
10 |
8 |
35-28 |
46 |
|
|
5 |
Beni Suef |
30 |
11 |
10 |
9 |
28-28 |
43 |
|
|
6 |
Fayoum |
30 |
11 |
10 |
9 |
30-25 |
43 |
|
|
7 |
Asyut Petroleum |
30 |
10 |
13 |
7 |
26-21 |
43 |
|
|
8 |
Sohag |
30 |
10 |
10 |
10 |
22-21 |
40 |
|
|
9 |
Dayrout |
30 |
10 |
8 |
12 |
45-43 |
38 |
|
|
10 |
Qena |
30 |
9 |
9 |
12 |
29-32 |
36 |
|
|
11 |
KIMA Aswan |
30 |
8 |
12 |
10 |
27-30 |
36 |
|
|
12 |
Telephonat |
30 |
8 |
11 |
11 |
24-25 |
35 |
|
|
13 |
Asyut Cement (R) |
30 |
8 |
9 |
13 |
29-37 |
33 |
[3]Relegated to the Third Division |
|
14 |
Shaban Qena (R) |
30 |
7 |
12 |
11 |
20-26 |
33 |
[3]Relegated to the Third Division |
|
15 |
M.S. Samasta (R) |
30 |
6 |
11 |
13 |
21-36 |
29 |
Relegated to the Third Division |
|
16 |
Tahta (R) |
30 |
3 |
6 |
21 |
27-64 |
15 |
Relegated 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.
[1] Classification in head-to-head matches: Beni Suef 6p, Fayoum 5p, Asyut Petroleum 3p.
[2] Qena and KIMA Aswan are perfectly equal in terms of head-to-head matches and goal difference, so the next criterion to be taken into consideration is the total number of goals scored: Qena 29, KIMA Aswan 27.
[3] Asyut Cement ahead of Shaban Qena on goal difference in head-to-head matches: Asyut Cement – Shaban Qena 2-1.
You have done a great job on this article. It’s very readable and highly intelligent. You have even managed to make it understandable and easy to read. You have some real writing talent. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteUFABET
Thank you very much. I have updated it one more time, with the final situation.
Delete