Arab Contractors salvaged a late 3-3 draw with ENPPI in a fiery Egyptian league match on Friday. Contractors' Ehab Al-Masri opened the scoring on 36 minutes before Ahmed Raouf equalized three minutes later. After the interval, the hosts took the lead again when Ibrahim Abdul-Raheem scored the second goal on 64 minutes, then Raouf netted another leveler 12 minutes later before Ahmed Abdul-Zaher hit the third for the visitors shortly after. Last-gasp Abdul-Raheem leveled in the dying minutes to prevent the Petroleum side from advancing to the second place. On gaining one point, ENPPI remained in the third place with 26 points, trailing second-placed Ismaili and Leaders Petrojet by one and four points respectively. On the other hand, Contractors lie eighth with 17 points, one adrift of seventh-placed Zamalek. Two-sided Game The match started off at a cracking pace, with visitors ENPPI trying to notch an early opener. Blackburn-target Ahmed Al-Muhammadi imposed a great deal of threat from the right flank, whipping in numerous pinpoint crosses, but none of his teammates could connect with them. Former Zamalek defender Tamer Abdul-Wahab could have fired the home side ahead on 22 minutes, but his low free-kick went inches past the post. The petroleum team's tightened their grip on the game, and their ball possession was notably greater than their opposition's almost till the half hour mark. Afterwards, the hosts got their act together and turned the match upside down, putting more pressure upfront. Midfielder Al-Masri squandered a clear-cut opportunity on 29 minutes when he was released by Rami Rabie's deft pass to go one-on-one with the keeper, but he couldn't slot home. Minutes after he was once again close to opening the scoring when he skillfully volleyed a left-wing cross, but his effort was denied by the crossbar.
ENPPI were about to register a much-needed win However, the 23-year-old made amends for wasting two chances and struck with a low shot that ended in the back corner of the net. The home side didn't enjoy the slender lead for long as Anwar Salama's men replied shortly, when the team's top scorer Ahmed Raouf leveled on 38 minutes from close range. Both sides were quite equivalent in the last minutes of the first half, which ended 1-1. The second half was an eventful affair, and both teams remained equal in domination and ball possession. ENPPI's Manu failed to convert a penalty kick, as his shot went wide of the post. On the hour mark, Arab Contractors regained the upper hand, while the visitors suffered a slight disorganization after the wasted penalty. ENPPI's backline also eased up for a while, which helped Mohamed Radwan's men restore their one-goal cushion. Ibrahim Abdul-Raheem scored the second goal for Contractors with aplomb from point-blank range, after dribbling past the defenders. All the same, ENPPI redeemed themselves and refused to give up, gradually increasing pressure upfront in order to overturn the 2-1 deficit. After several attempts, Raouf netted his second goal on 76 minutes with a powerful shot that Mohamed Al-Akabawi failed to catch. Eight minutes later, ENPPI took the lead when Abdul-Zaher connected from point-blank range with Amr Fahim's inch-perfect cross. The home side's all-attack strategy paved the way for Raouf, who was close to completing a hat-trick when he sprinted unmarked from the midfield towards the goal, but the keeper easily blocked his modest final touch. Abdul-Raheem equalized for the hosts in the dying minutes from a free-kick that inadvertently went into the net from the left flank.
