Pitso Mosimane’s Al Ahly have suffered a blow in the title race of the Egyptian Premier League after losing 2-1 to Smouha on Wednesday evening.
The ‘Club of the Century’ faced one of the toughest opponents in Egypt, and it looked like they had salvaged a draw before a last-minute goal by the hosts saw Al Ahly beaten for a first time this campaign.
The defeat also saw them miss out on going top of the log, but Al Ahly still have two games in hand over leaders Zamalek, who sit just three points ahead of them.
Smouha entered the game with just one league defeat this campaign so far, with Al Ahly the only Premier League side to have lost less games at the start of the game.
Overall, they have now lost just one domestic top-flight fixture out of their last 28 matches – a run that goes back to September 2020.
The hosts netted an early opener after some beautiful interplay in the Al Ahly box found Mahmoud Abdel Halim, who scored from close range.
Mosimane’s men equalized after 33 minutes, with Hussein El Shahat finishing a superb move with a lovely chip over the Smouha keeper.
The game remained level until the break, with both sides having chances to add to the score-line.
Al Ahly almost scored their second goal right after the break but a header following a corner only found the crossbar.
The clash stayed open in the second half, with Al Ahly dominating proceedings, while Smouha were responding to the champions’ efforts with dangerous counters.
Smouha, though, handed Al Ahly a later sucker-punch when Hossam Hassan surprised goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawy, who had returned into goal after recovering from COVID-19, with a long-range effort.
The defeat was Mosimane’s first loss in the Egyptian Premier League after previously going 16 games unbeaten.
