CAIRO: Ismaili registered a much-needed 1-0 win over Olympic in the Egyptian Premier League on Sunday to atone for their last week s surprising defeat. Mostafa Karim, who was kept on the fringes during the past few weeks, made a stunning comeback and scored the winner a couple of minutes after restart. The Iraqi ace gave the coastal side all three points after heading Omar Gamal s cross into an empty net. Karim has so far notched nine goals in the league this season. The Dervishes had slumped to a 1-0 loss to Gaish last Wednesday, and head coach Ricardo Ferreira was tipped to be relieved of his duty. The Brazilian tactician was fiercely blamed for Ismaili s inconsistency as he was allegedly ignoring several key figures for no apparent reason. On defeating Olympic, Ismaili moved to third place with 35 points, while the Alexandrian side lie in penultimate place with 16. Meanwhile, ENPPI were held to a 1-1 draw with hosts Ghazl Mahalla in an ill-tempered game. After a scoreless first period, Adel Mostafa put the petroleum side ahead on 55 minutes. But Danilho Daniel restored parity after hitting a last-gasp leveler. The match was halted for about seven minutes when some of the home side spectators hurled fireworks at the referee for disallowing a Mahalla goal. Mahalla assistant coach Essam Mohaisen was also dismissed for his inappropriate protest against the referee. ENPPI now lie fourth in the league table with 33 points, while Mahalla advanced to seventh place with 24.
