Él-Kanah snatch victory after Keraamika's red card
Keraamika Kleopatra lost 1:2 to Olympique El-Kanah in the opening match of the Premier League regular season on Saturday. Bobo gave the hosts an early lead before I. Samy rescued the visitors from the penalty spot. M. Wayo scored twice in stoppage time to complete the turnaround, and the result leaves Keraamika third while Olympique move into the top half of the table.
The first half belonged to the home side, and they were already ahead. Bobo fired past the keeper in the tenth minute after K. Amr had missed a penalty just before that. Olympique tried to keep them in it but could not find a way through. H. El Sayed picked up two bookings in five minutes, and I. Halima followed with a caution of his own. By then the visitors had barely threatened.
The second half changed the shape of things. Olympique brought on M. Otaka and M. Shalata at the break, and Samy made them pay within five minutes with a cool penalty. Bobo missed a spot-kick of his own for Keraamika, and then M. Rady saw red. And here's the thing — the home side lost their composure after that, even though they had kept control for most of the game.
Olympique turned to the kids and started looking for the winner. Wayo finally found the net in the ninetieth minute, then added a second seven minutes later to seal it. Keraamika had the ball but could not travel to make up the numbers. The visitors kept their heads while the hosts chased shadows.
The statistics tell a familiar story. Keraamika held 71 per cent of possession and created four big chances with an expected goals total of 2.35. Olympique managed only 29 per cent of the ball, two big chances and 1.46 expected goals. Many shots with one goal means chances went begging, and that is what happened for the home side.
Keraamika sit third with six points from three games, while Olympique occupy eighth with five points from three matches. The visitors have not lost yet, and this result puts them level on points with several sides above them. The hosts will look to bounce back, but the opening round has been decided by moments rather than dominance.