Al-Ahly and Mountain Wolves Share Points in 1-1 Thriller
Al-Ahly threw everything at Arab Contractors under the lights at the Arab Contractors Stadium, but walked away with only a 1-1 draw on a night that had almost everything: a shock opener, two penalties, a disallowed goal, and a worrying injury.
Islam Gaber stunned the visitors in the first half, before Ahmed Sayed "Zizo" dragged Al-Ahly level from the spot. The Reds even thought they had turned it around, only for the flag and the referee’s whistle to cut short their celebrations.
Mountain Wolves Bite First
Al-Ahly started as if they wanted this settled early. They pressed high, pinned Arab Contractors back, and let fly from range. Soufiane Bendebka took on the first real attempt, skidding a shot wide from outside the box. Zizo then whipped in a dangerous corner that forced the Mountain Wolves’ defence to scramble clear.
For all that early control, genuine threat was missing. The match drifted through its opening stages without a single shot on target. Then, on 20 minutes, the game jolted awake.
Arab Contractors broke through the Al-Ahly back line, their striker racing clear, only for Amr El-Gazzar to rescue the Reds with a crucial intervention that kept the scoreline level. It felt like a warning. Al-Ahly didn’t heed it.
The breakthrough came in the 38th minute. Omar Kamal Abdelwahed fouled inside the area, the referee pointed straight to the spot, and suddenly the Mountain Wolves had their moment. Islam Gaber stepped up, kept his nerve, and buried his penalty to hand Arab Contractors a shock lead and put the first goal past Al-Ahly on the night.
Al-Ahly tried to respond before the interval. In stoppage time, El-Gazzar found space for a header but sent it wide, squandering the chance to wipe out Gaber’s strike. The whistle went with the home side clinging to a clean, hard-earned 1-0 advantage and the visitors simmering.
Injury, Comeback and a Goal Ruled Out
The second half barely had time to settle before it was rocked. Disaster struck for Al-Ahly in the 49th minute when Amr El-Gazzar suffered a serious injury that forced him off. Just as they were gearing up to chase the game, they lost one of their key figures.
Al-Ahly pushed on regardless. Mohamed Beker tried to prise open the defence with a pass aimed at Achraf Bencharki inside the box, but he overhit it and the chance slipped away. The next time Bencharki got on the ball, he made it count.
On 55 minutes, the Moroccan drove at the Arab Contractors back line, weaving through challenges before a violent tackle from Khaled Abdelfattah brought him crashing down in the area. Another penalty. Another turning point.
Two minutes later, Zizo did what Zizo does. He stepped up and drilled home from the spot in the 57th minute, dragging Al-Ahly level and yanking the match back to square one.
The response was instant. A minute after the equaliser, Emam Ashour stepped onto the pitch for his first appearance in 112 days, his last outing for the Reds having come against Al-Masry at the end of the 2025/2026 Egyptian Premier League season. His return injected fresh energy into a game already burning hot.
The stadium erupted again in the 62nd minute. Mohamed Beker found the net, seemingly completing Al-Ahly’s turnaround with a second goal. The Reds celebrated, the bench rose, the narrative felt set.
Then came the cut. The assistant’s flag went up, the referee confirmed the offside, and the goal was ruled out. In a heartbeat, Arab Contractors were spared and clung to their precious draw, their belief restored.
From there, the tempo eased. The equaliser and the disallowed goal seemed to drain some of the chaos out of the contest. Both sides probed, both searched for a late winner, but the wild swings of the previous 20 minutes gave way to something more cautious.
One last spark nearly settled it. In the 88th minute, Emam Ashour, back after 112 days away, unleashed a superb effort that skimmed just centimetres over the Arab Contractors crossbar. It was the kind of strike that deserved to decide a match. It didn’t.
The Mountain Wolves survived. Al-Ahly were left with a point, a disallowed goal to rue, and a long look at what this bruising draw might mean for the rest of their league campaign.
