Ten-man Ismaili made light of their numerical disadvantage to claim a 2-1 Egyptian Premier League victory over ENPPI on Thursday, thanks to a fine brace from winger Ahmed Samir Farag. The Dervishes became only the second team to bag maximum six points from two games after Military Production. Defending champions Ahli take on Gaish on Friday in the last game of the competition's second round. Farag, who wrecked havoc down the left flank, needed 53 seconds to fire Ismaili in front. His angled free-kick went past ENPPI keeper Mohamed Abou-Gabal, whose poor reflex allowed the former Ahli man to place his low shot into the bottom corner. ENPPI's new signing Amr Al-Halawani almost equalized on 14 minutes but his shot on the turn struck the post. Ismaili had left-back Abdullah Shahat dismissed nine minutes before the break for a second bookable offense. Shahat, who was earlier yellow-carded for a challenge on ENPPI's lively playmaker Walid Soliman, received his marching orders for a clumsy tackle on Sherif Ragab. ENPPI piled on pressure and exploited the gaps that resulted from Shahat's red card to launch a wave of attacks. Their pressure paid dividends on the stroke of halftime after a mistake from Ismaili defender Moatasem Salem, who was on the verge of joining Ahli in the close season. The Egyptian international mis-hit his clearance from a cross to allow ENPPI striker Ahmed Abdul-Zaher to collect the loose ball and slot home past keeper Mohamed Sobhi from close range.
Individual Effort Chances were few and far between in the second half, with Ismaili becoming more cautious after losing Shahat to a red card and ENPPI struggling to continue carving out goalscoring chances. ENPPI's Ivorian striker Vincent Die Foneye, who was introduced in the second half, had a fine backward header blocked by Ismaili keeper Mohamed Sobhi three minutes past the hour mark. Farag stole the show with a superb individual effort that gave Ismaili a valuable victory 13 minutes from time. He skipped past Islam Awad on the edge of the area and hit a low left-footed shot that beat Abou-Gabal. His goal sparked wild celebrations on the bench, with TV cameras spotting Ismaili's Dutch coach Mark Wotte dancing on the running track. "The victory tastes very good because we were playing with ten men," Farag told Nile Sport after the game. "That victory proved that we are a strong team and can compete for the league title. "I hope that we can win our next league game to approach our Champions League clash against Heartland in the best possible way." One-time African champions Ismaili host Nigeria's Heartland later this month in Group B. They have three points from as many games, one behind bitter rivals Ahli and six adrift of leaders JS Kabylie of Algeria.
