Haras Al-Hedoud won their first ever football trophy after snatching the Egyptian Cup from Enppi. Ahmed Morsy reports Haras Al-Hedoud won their first title in their history after beating Enppi 4-1 on penalties following a 1-1 draw in an exhausting game to claim the Egyptian Cup title on Sunday. It was the shortest ever domestic cup competition, taking only 36 days. Cairo giants Ahli and Zamalek were knocked out from the round of 16 and 32 respectively by Haras Al-Hedoud and Beni Ebeid. Ismaili were also eliminated in the round of 32 at the hands of Dakhlia. In the semi-final, Petrojet, the current league runner-up, clashed with Enppi in an all-petroleum game and were defeated 3-1 while Haras Al-Hedoud beat Petroleum Assiout 2-1. As for the final encounter, both sides were too cautious in the first half, but Enppi had the upper hand while in the second half they failed to create any clear-cut chance. The military club coach, Tarek El-Ashri, introduced Ahmed Salama and Ahmed Mekki in a bid to improve his side's attacking display. The duo hardly made an impact in the second half but combined well enough when Mekki was able to notch Al-Hedoud's opener five minutes into the first-half of extra time. However, Ahmed El-Mohamedi set up Enppi striker Ahmed Raouf for the equaliser just before the end of the extra-time's first half when Raouf towered unopposed to head the 21- year-old's inch-perfect cross into the back of the net. Enppi's celebrations were cut short by Hedoud's excellence in penalties to miss out on the chance of winning their second cup in their history. It was Enppi's second successive final appearance. They won the cup in 2005. El-Ashri admitted that Hedoud were not at their best during the cup final at Cairo Stadium. "In such tense matches teams become very cautious. That's why the game was not entertaining," he said. "My players were nervous because it was the first final in their career. They couldn't sleep yesterday." In league play, stubborn Al-Gaish held defending champions Ahli to a 2-2 draw on Saturday in the last rescheduled league match to end Ahli's five-match winning streak. Mohamed Barakat gave Ahli the lead on 16 minutes, and Al-Gaish equalised when Ernest Papa Arko headed home 11 minutes from the interval. Togolese forward Dodzi Dogbe, who featured for the military side for the first time in a competitive game, struck four minutes after restart. However, Angolan hitman Flavio Amado canceled out Al-Gaish's lead when he headed Barakat's right-wing cross home with aplomb from the narrowest of angles on 57 minutes. Ahli sought to score a last-gasp winner, but to no avail. After the draw, leaders Ahli went three points clear of Petrojet, who lie second with 30, while Gaish remained in 14th place with 16 points. Ismaili lie in third place with 29 points. The top-scorer is Barakat with eight goals, side by side with Ismaili's Iraqi striker Mustafa Karim. All 16 teams have now played 15 games, the league's midway mark. Ahli assistant coach Hossam El-Badri admitted that Al-Gaish deserved to get a point after holding Ahli to a 2-2 draw and the result makes a lot of sense, given that the military side produced an impressive display and kept surprising Ahli's backline throughout the game. "We never settle for draws, but no team can keep winning all the time," El-Badri said. "Ahli put in a below-par performance in the first half. We had no dominance at both flanks, which gave our opponents the chance to pile up the pressure." Gaish coach Farouk Gaafar praised his team for sticking to the planned strategy, and voiced his satisfaction over the result. "What really mattered in the game was the tactical aspect. We had to mark all of Ahli's key players all the time," Gaafar said. "Ahli were on the right track to register a victory, but their substitutions were not very wise. Besides, we were strong opponents, and our frontline duo of Ernest Papa Arko and Dodzi Dogbe were really spectacular. "Ultimately, clinching one point is better than nothing." In other developments, Ismaili have been paired with Tunisian side Esperance in the Arab Champions League (ACL) quarter-final. Ismaili booked a last-eight berth in superb style after defeating USM Alger 7-2 on aggregate. The 2004 finalists are bidding to become the first Egyptian team to win the tournament. The dates of the quarter-finals' two legs are yet to be determined. On Friday, in Cairo Stadium, Ahli will play Sfaxien of Tunisia in the African Super Cup which pits the winner of the African Champions League with the winner of the Confederation Cup.
