Harras Hodoud failed to get off their Egyptian Premier League campaign to a winning start after being held to a 1-1 home draw by Police Union on Friday. Tarek Al-Ashri's side have emerged as possible title contenders after winning the Egyptian Cup last year. They also demonstrated their growing title credentials by beating Cairo giants and six-time African champions Ahli 2-0 in the local Super Cup - the season's curtain raiser. However, Hodoud failed to overcome Police in Alexandria despite claiming the lead through Ahmed Abdul-Ghani's 39th-minute penalty. Police defender Ahmed Duiedar secured a share of spoils nine minutes after the restart after a blunder from Hodoud's Cameroonian keeper Mathurin Kameni. Hodoud had the better of first-half chances, with Egyptian internationals Abdul-Ghani and Ahmed Eid unsettling Police's defense with their energetic moves. The hosts were unlucky not to grab the lead on the quarter-hour mark. An Abdul-Ghani low drive was parried by Police keeper Mohamed Khalaf into the path of Eid, whose follow-up effort hit the post.
Police players celebrating the equalizer Hodoud made amends six minutes before the break when Abdul-Ghani converted a penalty after Police midfielder Mohamed Hanafi handled the ball in the area. The military side still had the better possession in the second half but barely created clear-cut opportunities to allow Police to restore parity. A long-range shot from Duiedar, a tame one though, struck Kameni's hands and found its way into the net. Hodoud should have restored their advantage shortly after but had a goal controversially disallowed by the referee. Eid headed into an empty net after Khalaf failed to collect a right-wing cross but the referee did not allow the goal to stand due to alleged foul on the guardian. Elsewhere, league newcomers Military Production caused a huge upset by securing a 2-0 victory over Masri. Two goals from Mohamed Zaki and Mohamed Abdul-Wahab either side of the interval gave them all three points.
