Goals by Ahmed Tawfik, Ahmed Hassan Mekki, Moustafa Fathi and Mahmoud Kahraba were enough to hand the Egyptians the top spot in the group leaving the South Africans occupying the second spot. Kahraba was man of the match with two assists and his one goal.
The visitors took the game to the hosts, but the Egyptians were solid at the back with no chances created by Eric Tinkler’s men as both sides lost possession easily.
However, it was the Soweto giants who showed cracks at the back when they allowed the Egyptians to pounce through Tawfik in the 13th minute.
Both sides tried to move forward in search of goals but it was the visitors who bagged an equaliser when Sifiso Myeni picked out Thamasanqa Gabuza on the overlap, the former Golden Arrows man delivered a great cross and found skipper Oupa Manyisa who finished with ease to make it 1-1 as he beat the hosts’ keeper in his near post.
Five minutes later, Mekki made it two after completing a great move by the hosts to give the Egyptians a 2-1 lead towards halftime.
The hosts went into the interval leading 2-1 and the second stanza began on a high with the Egyptians searching for more goals but Bucs' goalkeeper denied them.
Just before making way for Kermit Erasmus, Gabuza failed to make his shot count, but a few minutes after Gabuza’s substitution, Zamalek managed to find the back of the net through Fathi, making it 3-1.
Eric Tinkler’s men tried to push ahead to find goals but Manyisa took a shot in desperation and it flew off target, and then Thandani Ntshumayelo had his shot blocked.
Despite making strides to get another goal, tragedy struck for the visitors when Kahraba made it 4-1 to give the Egyptians a huge advantage over the Soweto giants as they secured top spot in Group B with 15 points.
Zamalek now face Tunisians Etoile du Sahel in the semifinals while Pirates must face Al Ahly who topped Group A.
No comments:
Post a Comment