The Egyptian football Premier League will be suspended due to the Egyptian national football team camp for the upcoming two friendly games against Jordan and Libya on 27 and 29 January.
The friendlies will be held in Aswan, as part of the Egyptian national team’s preparations for the African Cup of Nations and African World Cup qualifiers.
The Egyptian league reached its 16th round, in which Al-Ahly scored its 10th win against Ittihad Alexandria, 1-0. The winning goal was scored by Ghanaian Al-Ahly striker John Antwi in the 65th minute of the game.
Al-Ahly completely dominated the game, as it did against Ismaily SC during round 15, when it won 1-0 after Abdallah El-Said made a world class free kick.
The win against Ismaily SC resulted in a victory for the new manager, Abdel-Aziz Abdel-Shafy, in his first match with Al-Ahly, after former Portuguese manager José Peseiro moved to manage Portuguese football giants FC Porto.
Following Al-Ahly’s win against Ittihad Alexandria, the African club of the century has recorded its 916th win in Egyptian league history out of a total of 1,379 games played since the beginning of the league in the 1948-1949 season. Al-Ahly now sits atop the table, with 32 points, one point above its arch-rival Al-Zamalek.
Al-Ahly continued its 13-year winning streak against Ittihad at the Alexandria Stadium. The last win for Ittihad against Al-Ahly was in 2003, when they snatched a 3-2 win.
Al-Ahly still has two postponed league matches that it must play, starting with the match against Ennpi on 3 February, which was postponed at round five. The game could mark a beginning for Al-Ahly’s newest rising star, central midfielder Amr El-Soulia, the former Ismaily player who came to Al-Ahly from the UAE’s Ras Al-Kheima in a January transfer.
On the other hand, the Egyptian league title holder Al-Zamalek’s winning streak has ended, following the appointment of the new coach Mido. Al-Zamalek drew against Smouha SC in Alexandria 1-1 during round 16. The White Knights failed to snatch a victory as they did against Al-Masry SC, when they grabbed a marvellous late 1-0 win after Mustafa Fathy scored a magnificent goal during the 84th minute, near the end of the game.
Al-Zamalek did however score wins with Mido, against Daqahleya 2-0, and both Ennpi and Al-Masry 1-0, but failed to continue against Smouha after an excellent performance from the latter’s side. Al-Zamalek moreover missed a number of chances to score more goals
Smouha’s Amr El-Menoufy scored the first goal in the 64th min, while Al-Zamalek defender Hamada Tolba struck a late equaliser in stoppage time, saving his manager Mido from his first defeat by registering a draw.
Al-Zamalek recorded its 362nd draw in the league, putting the club in second place on the table with 31 points, one point below Al-Ahly. The club still has two postponed matches, beginning with one against Ismaily on 3 February, from a game that was postponed from round five.
