Fayoum SC won away at KIMA Aswan in dramatic circumstances

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

Abdullah Sharqia 58' - Mohamed Gamal "Bebo" 25', 90'.

Thursday, 22 December 2022, 2 pm local time (12 noon UTC), Aswan Stadium, Aswan, Egypt, the 11th round of the Egyptian Second Division, Group A.

Fayoum SC succeeded only the second win this season, out of 11 matches played so far, away at KIMA Aswan. Actually, their only previous win was also away, at Asyut Cement, so they did not win any games yet on their home ground.

They are in a difficult situation, once again, and the new manager Khaled Eino has to struggle a lot to get the results needed. In the first match with him as a manager, Fayoum obtained all the points away at Asyut Cement, but afterwards there were five winless games, before they won again, away at KIMA Aswan.

The match was actually open to any result. The home side scored a very spectacular goal (with the heel) in the beginning of the game, but the goal was cancelled for offside. Mohamed Gamal "Bebo" had a wonderful strike from the edge of the box, the ball hit the crossbar, and then got in, before getting out again. Another Fayoum player pushed the ball in just to make sure, but the referee had already indicated the goal: 0-1 (25').

KIMA Aswan then tried to equalize and had a number of opportunities, but Fayoum defended well. Fayoum main goalkeeper, Amir Nouman, suffered an injury and had to be replaced by Mohamed Kandil.

In the second half, after a cross from the right side in Fayoum box, Mohamed Kandil came out to clear the ball, but landed in a very strange way, while the ball reached Abdullah Sharqia, whose shot went right in: 1-1 (58').

Unfortunately, Mohamed Kandil suffered an injury, and because of his unusual head-on landing on the field, lost his consciousness. According to some reports (which have been challenged since then), he might have swallowed his tongue. Anyway, the good news is that doctors helped him out and he was transported to the nearest hospital, for complete medical diagnosis. 

The injury of Fayoum goalkeeper Mohamed Kandil drew a lot of attention, but ended up well. Photo source: filgoal.com

The match was interrupted for many minutes. More than that, Fayoum had no other goalkeeper, and had to resort to a field player, Sameh Atef, to play as a goalkeeper, for the remaining time (more than half an hour).

KIMA Aswan were clearly favorites to score at least one more goal, especially because there were 20 minutes of stoppage time added after reaching the end of normal time, mainly due to the interruption caused by Kandil's injury. However, the home side was unable to score, and the visitors tried hard to keep the ball as far as possible from their own half. Sameh Atef did a fine job as a goalkeeper, as well.

Even more, Fayoum succeeded to score the winning goal, right before stoppage time. A surprising very long-range shot from one of Fayoum defenders hit the crossbar, the ball came back in the field, where Mohamed Gamal "Bebo" was able to overtake the defenders and to score: 1-2 (90').

KIMA Aswan had plenty of time for an equalizer, as there were 20 minutes of added time, as already pointed out. Nevertheless, the score remained the same.

The players of the two teams were also affected by the emotions caused by Mohamed Kandil's medical condition. They only learned that he was fine only after the game ended. He was also released from hospital and was able to join his teammates in the train going back to Fayoum. One has to note that the game started half an hour earlier, 2 pm instead of 2:30 pm, because the Egyptian FA approved Fayoum's request in that respect, so that they could catch the 6 pm train without pressure. It is paradoxical that the game lasted almost the same as if had started at 2:30 pm, and still they were able to catch the train, and even take Mohamed Kandil out of the hospital and with them in the train.

For Fayoum, these three points are very important, as they are not far from the bottom of the table. They need to get more points, and to be farther away from the last place, the only one resulting in relegation to the Third Division. The sixth place or higher seems difficult to attain at this stage, but who knows.

Their next game will be a very tough one, as they will face La Viena. They will play the game on their home ground, Alassiouty Sport Resort, which is also the home ground for La Viena, so the home ground will not be an advantage this time. Moreover, La Viena are one of the strong candidates for promotion to the Premier League, and have a very good side.

Full results, table and fixtures:

 

Round 11 (22-23 December 2022)

 

KIMA Aswan – Fayoum 1-2

La Viena – Shoban M. Qena 2-0

Aluminium – Telephonat 2-0

Misr Lel Makkasa – Asyut Cement 1-0

Al Madina Al Monawara – El Minya 1-1

Asyut Petroleum – Tamya 1-1

Dayrout – Al Nasr Lel Taa’den 1-1

Naser Mallawi – El Gouna 2-2

 

Table

 

1	Misr Lel Makkasa	11	7	4	0	17-7	25	Promotion to the Premier League
2	Asyut Petroleum	11	7	3	1	19-7	24	Qualification for Second Division A
3	La Viena	11	7	2	2	20-9	23	Qualification for Second Division A
4	El Gouna	11	6	3	2	18-9	21	Qualification for Second Division A
5	Al Nasr Lel Taa’den	11	5	3	3	16-12	18	Qualification for Second Division A
6	Aluminium	11	4	3	4	13-11	15	Play-off Second Division A / B
7	Dayrout	11	3	4	4	13-12	13	Qualification for Second Division B
8	Asyut Cement	11	4	1	6	14-18	13	Qualification for Second Division B
9	Naser Mallawi	11	3	4	4	10-17	13	Qualification for Second Division B
10	Fayoum	11	2	6	3	11-13	12	Qualification for Second Division B
11	Tamya	11	3	3	5	8-12	12	Qualification for Second Division B
12	KIMA Aswan	11	3	3	5	10-19	12	Qualification for Second Division B
13	El Minya	10	2	4	4	8-11	10	Qualification for Second Division B
14	Shoban M. Qena	10	2	3	5	11-12	9	Qualification for Second Division B
15	Telephonat	11	2	3	6	7-15	9	Qualification for Second Division B
16	Al Madina Al Monawara	11	1	3	7	10-21	6	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 12 (29-30 December 2022)

 

El Gouna – Al Madina Al Monawara

Asyut Cement – Aluminium

Tamya – Naser Mallawi

Telephonat – Dayrout

Al Nasr Lel Taa’den – KIMA Aswan

Shoban M. Qena – Asyut Petroleum

El Minya – Misr Lel Makkasa

Fayoum – La Viena