Al-Ahly and Mountain Wolves Share Spoils in 1-1 Stalemate
Al-Ahly ran into a stubborn, snarling wall in the form of Arab Contractors, forced to settle for a 1-1 draw on a breathless night at the Arab Contractors Stadium in the Egyptian Premier League.
The Mountain Wolves struck first, Islam Gaber silencing the Reds in the 38th minute. Ahmed Sayed "Zizo" dragged Al-Ahly back into it from the spot early in the second half, but a disallowed goal and a serious injury turned what could have been a comeback story into a night of frustration.
Mountain Wolves Bite First
Al-Ahly started as if they intended to end the contest early.
Soufiane Bendebka took aim from distance with the first real effort, his shot skidding wide. Zizo followed up with a viciously whipped corner that forced the Arab Contractors defence into emergency mode, scrambling clear under pressure.
For all that early dominance, the real threat never quite materialised. The match drifted into a cagey rhythm, neither side registering a shot on target until the 20th minute. When that moment came, it nearly flipped the script.
Arab Contractors broke through the Al-Ahly back line with a clean one-on-one, only for Amr El-Gazzar to bail his side out, intervening to snuff out what was, up to that point, the clearest chance of the game.
Then came the twist.
Omar Kamal Abdelwahed committed a foul inside the area, and the referee wasted no time pointing to the spot. Islam Gaber stepped up, calm and clinical, and buried his penalty in the 38th minute to hand the Mountain Wolves a shock lead and put the first goal past Al-Ahly on the night.
The goal rattled the visitors. They pushed back before the break, and El-Gazzar had the chance to make amends at the other end in stoppage time, only to send his header wide. The whistle went with Arab Contractors still clinging to their precious, and deserved, 1-0 advantage.
Injury, Equaliser, and a Goal Ruled Out
The second half exploded into life almost immediately, and not in the way Al-Ahly would have wanted.
Just as they tried to raise the tempo and pin Contractors back, disaster struck. Amr El-Gazzar suffered a serious injury in the 49th minute and had to leave the pitch, a jarring moment that briefly stalled Al-Ahly’s attempts to wrestle control of the game.
They pushed on regardless. Mohamed Beker tried to unlock the defence with a ball into Achraf Bencharki inside the box, but his pass ran too heavy and the chance slipped away. The warning signs for Contractors, though, were growing.
Bencharki then took matters into his own hands.
Gliding past defenders, he drove into the area and drew a wild, clattering challenge from Khaled Abdelfattah in the 55th minute. The referee pointed to the spot again. This time, it was Al-Ahly’s turn.
Zizo stepped up and, with trademark composure, converted in the 57th minute to level the score and drag the match back to 1-1. The momentum swung sharply. The noise rose. The game, finally, was wide open.
Barely a minute later, the night produced another storyline.
Emam Ashour, out for 112 days, made his long-awaited return. His last appearance for the Reds had come against Al-Masry at the end of the 2025/2026 league campaign. His introduction injected fresh energy and a sense that Al-Ahly might yet flip the result.
They thought they had.
In the 62nd minute, Mohamed Beker lashed in what looked like Al-Ahly’s second goal, only for the celebrations to be cut short. The referee ruled it out for offside, a decision that allowed Arab Contractors to breathe again and hang on to their point.
Late Push, Narrow Miss
After that furious spell, the match eased into a more controlled phase. Both sides searched for a winner, but the attacks lost a touch of precision. Half-chances came and went, the final ball too often letting both teams down.
Then, as the clock ticked into the 88th minute, Emam Ashour nearly wrote the perfect comeback chapter.
Finding space and rhythm at the edge of the action, he unleashed a superb effort that had the Arab Contractors goalkeeper beaten but not the frame of the goal. The ball flashed just centimetres over, a whisker away from turning one point into three.
Arab Contractors held firm to the final whistle, their organisation and resilience earning them a hard-fought draw. Al-Ahly, left to rue a disallowed goal, a missed header, and that late Ashour effort, walk away knowing this was a night that could easily have ended very differently.
On evenings like this, dropped points feel heavier. How much will this one weigh when the title race tightens?
