The hosts Pharaohs advanced in the Nile Basin tournament on Saturday night in Cairo when Mohamed Ngui ‘Gedo' broke the deadlock in injury time to give Egypt a 1-0 victory over a stubborn Uganda side. Gedo, who replaced Mohamed Abou Treika, gathered the ball in the area to score the winner with an unstoppable effort. Egypt's veteran defender Wael Gomaa celebrated his 100th cap in the game when he was introduced in the 64 minute. Hosni Abd-Rabou was included in the Pharaohs' starting eleven for the first since recuperating from his cruciate ligament injury. Egypt are now on top of the friendly competition's Group A with six points, three ahead of second-placed Uganda. Tanzania and Burundi, who played out a 1-1 draw earlier on the day, lie third and fourth respectively with a single point each. Egypt won all their six matches against Uganda. Uganda successfully depended on the offside trap most of the game to keep a clean sheet amid Egypt's onslaught. Ahmed Belal could have opened the scoring in the 28 minute from a one-on-one opportunity, but was caught offside. The second scoring chance fell to defender Mahmoud Fathallah when he connected with an Abou Treika cross only to see his header go past the post. The visitors' strategy once again paid off when Ismaili's Ahmed Samir Farag hit a goal that was disallowed for offside. El-Sayyed Hamdi beat the offside four minutes from the hour mark to go clear, but his poor shot went wide of the mark. The introduction of Gedo notably injected zeal. He first came close to scoring in the 70 minute when his fierce header narrowly missed the target. But eventually Ahly's forward managed to snatch a late goal that was enough for the African champions to emerge winners. Egypt's assistant coach Shawqi Gharib said we planned well to get the three points, but we still need more from the team. “The team still in the final preparation phases to be ready for the African Cup of Nations qualifier against South Africa in March,” he said after the game.
