CAIRO: Egypt won the gold medal in the Pan Arab Games football tournament after securing an easy 2-1 victory over 10-man Saudi Arabia at Cairo Stadium on Sunday. Saudi Arabia, who played the majority of the game with 10 men after Red Tukar was handed a straight red card, pulled one back through Yasser Al-Qahtani s penalty. Egypt finished on top of the five-team league with 10 points, on level with second-placed Libya, who claimed the silver medal due to their inferior goal difference to the Pharaohs. Saudi Arabia came third on just four points, to claim the bronze medal. Hossam Ghaly opened the scoring six minutes before the break and Emad Meteb doubled the advantage just before halftime. Saudi Arabia were not threatened in the first-half but their hopes suffered a blow after Tukar received his marching orders in the 29th minute for elbowing Ghaly. Egypt capitalized on their numerical advantage and broke the deadlock in the 39th minute, thanks to a splendid shot by Ghaly. The Tottenham Hotspur out-of-favor midfielder found space 30 yards out and let fly with a right-footed shot that went into the right top corner of the net. Meteb doubled the lead in the first-half s additional time with a superb looping shot. The Al Ahly striker collected the ball on left edge of the area before sending a glorious shot into the far top corner of the net. The visitors were awarded a deserved penalty nine minutes after re-start when Osama Mohamed carelessly halted Ahmed Darwish s run with a tackle from behind. Al-Qahtani stepped-up to notch home past the diving Essam Al-Hadari, narrowing the gap. However, despite having a lifeline, Saudi Arabia continued their sluggish form and couldn t break through Egypt s defense until the referee blew the final whistle.
