Al-Ahly faced a 2-1 defeat to Smouha on Tuesday, while Al-Zamalek beat Wadi Degla in a penalty shoot-out on Monday. Al-Zamalek and Smouha will meet on Saturday in the Egypt Cup final, to be played in Cairo after both club presidents objected to playing the match in Aswan because of the high temperatures in the Upper Egypt city. In the original plan the cup final was to be played into inaugurate a new stadium in Aswan and 8000 supporters were to be allowed to attend the game. Since the killing of dozens of Al-Ahly fans in a Port Said stadium in February 2012, supporters have banned from stadiums. Smouha, the Alexandrian Blues, started the match against Al-Ahly in the knowledge that they had lost this season's league title to the Red Devils in a direct encounter, with a result of 0-0 in the final match of the league. The Blues were clear in their intention to take revenge for this loss, taking a 2-0 lead in a mere half hour. The Cairo team tried to turn the tide in the second half, but after a late goal to make it 2-1, they were not able to force an equaliser Wadi Degla and Al-Zamalek went to a penalty shoot-out after 90 minutes of football left a clean score sheet. The White Knights wasted a two-penalty lead, but managed to proceed to the final after Salah Soliman converted his penalty in a goal, delivering the Cairo team a 5-4 win. Winning the cup for the second consecutive time would make this season a bit more bearable for Al-Zamalek fans, who saw their all-time rivals Al-Ahly win their eighth consecutive league title. Smouha could make history in the cup final by winning their first ever prize.
