ENPPI assistant coach Mahmoud Saleh put the petroleum side's 2-1 league loss at Ismaili down to bad luck, saying his men are not to blame. "The players fulfilled all their duties but they were just jinxed," he told the post-match news conference. "We would have won the game or at least salvaged a draw had we had a bit of luck. "Our level of performance was better than our opening match (against Gouna) and I think the team will be further improving in the coming games." ENPPI beat Gouna 1-0 early in August. Daily Fast Saleh's Ismaili counterpart Ashraf Kheidr believes that fasting during Ramadan took its toll on the Dervishes. "To some extent, the daily fast negatively affected our players' fitness," he said. "I think were lucky to defeat ENPPI who were trying to pull off a victory, not just to draw." Ismaili had left-back Abdullah Shahat dismissed nine minutes before the break for two bookable offenses. However, a fine brace from winger Ahmed Samir Farag helped the hosts to a hard-fought win. "We couldn't change our formation after the dismissal of Shahat but the players precisely followed the instructions (of the coaching staff) and that's why we won," Kheidr added. Ismaili became the second team to bag maximum six points from two games after Military Production.
