|
A
late goal by Eid Abdel Malik saved the Pharaohs from
losing to Guinea whose forwards gave the Pharaohs all
sorts of problems throughout the game. Despite the early
lead which came in the 4th minute via Abd Rabo's header,
the Pharaohs defense looked extremely fragile as El
Saka's teammate Youla managed to score twice in the
first half. In the 2nd half, the guests scored a disputed
goal early on and the Pharaohs failed to come back into
the game until the stoppage time where Abd Malik saved
the day with a header after some nice work by Shikabala
and El Sayed Hamdi.
While the Pharaohs didn't perform at their
best against Guinea, the test match made it clear that
there are some new faces who can fit nicely within the
national team. The friendly also showed that some players
will not benefit the national team in the near future.
El Sayed Hamdy in particular was the best
addition to the national team. He created two goals
and looked energetic throughout the game. Another player
who would benefit the national team is Shikabala, the
young talented player is on a great form and can add
much needed creativity to the national team.
On the other hand, defenders looked out
of form especially Fathallah and Hani Said. Said was
too slow to stop the quick Guinean forwards while Fathalla
missed a key tackle which lead to the 2nd goal which
came in a comical way.
The return of Ahmed Said OKa to selection
would benefit the Pharaohs defense hugely. In addition
to this, Hazem Emam Jr. looks to be a better option
than Mohammadi as the latter crossing is not accurate.
Egypt had a perfect start in the game,
scoring an early goal after some hard work by Hamdy
in the left wing and a good finish by Abd Rabo.
Despite the good start, Abd Rabo was dispossessed
by Youla who managed to round El Hadary and score.
Abd Rabo saved himself from the embarrassment
by scoring a scorcher from distance to make the score
2-1.
Minutes later, Hani Said gave away possession
in midfield which led to a fast counter attack that
ended with another goal.
Early on in the 2nd half, the referee's
assistant awarded Guinea a goal which should have been
ruled out for either offside or a handball on Diawara.
The Pharaohs needed to level the score
and so, the Egyptian team pushed men forward while Guinea
were content to play in their own half. Despite having
most of possession, creating chances was poor and finishing
was even poorer.
In the stoppage time, the Pharaohs leveled
the score after taking advantage of Shikabala's pace
and technique, he managed to take the ball to Guinea's
half before skipping a Guinea player and passing on
the floor to Hamdy, the latter crossed the ball to find
Abdel Mlik who headed home to end the game in a 3-3
draw.
|