A goal in stoppage time gave Aswan a hard-fought win over Fayoum

Aswan SC - Fayoum SC 2-1 (1-0)

Mohamed El Ashry 21', Mohamed Gouda 90'+4' - Islam El Sayed Lamouna 50'.

Saturday, 25 December 2021, 2:30 pm local time (12:30 pm UTC), Aswan Stadium, Aswan, Egypt, the 12th round of the Egyptian Second Division, Group A.

The positive run of seven consecutive matches undefeated ended for Fayoum SC on Saturday, after their away game at leaders Aswan SC. They were not too far from preventing Aswan SC to climb on that top spot once again - just a few minutes of stoppage time.

The referees and the two team captains before the start of the game. Goalkeeper Islam Emad Risha (in pink) was again Fayoum SC captain. Source: Aswan SC Facebook page

The game started off very well for Aswan SC, which created several big goal opportunities right from the beginning, one missed by little (3') and one shot into the side post (13'). The goal eventually came not before long: a free kick from the right side was perfectly executed for centre back Mohamed El Ashry to head it in from short range: 1-0 (21').

After the goal, the attacks of Aswan SC decreased in intensity, although they still had several chances to double their advantage. Gradually, the visitors also began to raid the opposite half, posing yet no real threat for Aswan SC goal. The first half ended with Aswan leading 1-0 and giving the impression that they would win easily.

 Aswan SC (in blue) attacked most of the game. Source: Aswan SC Facebook page

Therefore, it was a total surprise when Fayoum SC started the second half in an offensive manner, clearly meaning to equalize. Mahmoud Abd Elsalam Gresha had a first shot, wide (48'), but the alarm did not sound properly for Aswan. The same Mahmoud Abd Elsamal Gresha crossed from the left, and Islam El Sayed Lamouna positioned his right foot as to properly direct the ball into the net from the centre of the box: 1-1 (50').

The match continued rather balanced, because the visitors seemed quite content with the draw and diminished their attacks, while the hosts needed some time to adapt to the situation, and to resume their offensive. A long ball into Fayoum SC box was chased by several players, including Fayoum defender Hamad Hassan and goalkeeper Islam Emad Risha, who clashed. The Aswan forward was however unable to score, as his shot hit Mahmoud Kamal "Schmeichel", the last man before the goal (68'). It was the biggest goal-scoring opportunity for Aswan in the second half, except for the very late goal. As a result of the clash, Hamad Hassan had to be replaced and was transported by the ambulance, while goalkeeper Islam Emad Risha continued to play, but was clearly injured, limping for the rest of the game. The match was stopped for 7 minutes to allow the goalkeeper to recover and the ambulance to take the defender.

 Aswan SC pressure increased towards the end of the game. Source: Aswan SC Facebook page

So, the game resumed in 75', and all that remained could be described as an overall assault of Aswan SC. The visitors were really heroic in defending the draw, Islam Emad Risha and the defense had some crucial interventions along the way, but they were eventually beaten in stoppage time. The referee gave 10 minutes of stoppage time, and in the fourth one another long ball was desperately sent into Fayoum SC box, and this time was controlled by Mohamed Gouda, in between the defenders and very close to the goalkeeper, but he somehow managed to sneak the ball in for the win: 2-1 (90'+4'). 

In the remaining six minutes, Fayoum tried the impossible, but instead they almost received another goal, only avoided by a spectacular intervention of Islam Emad Risha.

Fayoum SC: Islam Emad Risha - Islam El Sayed Lamouna, Hamad Hassan (Ahmed Saber Mansheya 73'), Mahmoud Kamal "Schmeichel", Ali El-Sakhr - Ali Abo Elela, Ahmed Mohamed Roni, Hossam Hassan (Mohamed Morsi 39'), Mahmoud Abd Elsalam Gresha (Salah Ashraf 89') - Abdel Moati Mohamed - Alaa El Din Metwally. Manager: Sayed Sobhi.

It must be said that several important players for Fayoum were unable to attend the game for several reasons, mainly because of injuries, and therefore manager Sayed Sobhi had to adapt the team according to those able to play.

The next round will be played on the 1st of January 2022, when Fayoum will play at home the local derby against Tamya, while Aswan will have a very difficult game away at Aluminium.

Full results, table and fixtures:

Round 12 (25-27 December 2021)

 

Aswan – Fayoum 2-1

Beni Suef – Naser Mallawi 1-0

Telephonat – KIMA Aswan 0-0

El Minya – Sohag 1-1

Al Madina Al Monawara – Asyut Petroleum 1-0

Qena – Aluminium 1-1

El Badari – Media 0-1

Tamya – Dayrout – to be played on Monday, 27 December

 

Table

 

1	Aswan	12	8	3	1	19-9	27	Promotion to the Premier League
2	KIMA Aswan	12	7	5	0	18-10	26
3	Aluminium	12	5	5	2	18-9	20
4	Asyut Petroleum	12	5	5	2	15-7	20
5	El Minya	12	5	5	2	16-9	20
6	Fayoum	12	5	4	3	12-12	19
7	Beni Suef	12	4	6	2	15-13	18
8	Dayrout	11	4	5	2	11-8	17
9	Al Madina Al Monawara	12	4	3	5	15-13	15
10	Tamya	11	3	3	5	9-11	12
11	Sohag	12	2	6	4	9-11	12
12	Naser Mallawi	12	3	3	6	11-17	12
13	Media	12	2	4	6	7-16	10	Relegation to the Third Division
14	Telephonat	12	1	5	6	7-15	8	Relegation to the Third Division
15	El Badari	12	2	2	8	10-24	8	Relegation to the Third Division
16	Qena	12	1	4	7	11-19	7	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 13 (1 January 2021)

 

Aluminium – Aswan

Sohag – El Badari

El Minya – Al Madina Al Monawara

Naser Mallawi – Asyut Petroleum

Dayrout – Beni Suef

Media – Telephonat

Fayoum – Tamya

KIMA Aswan – Qena