Mohamed Zidan marked his long-awaited comeback from injury with a goal as Egypt made light of their injury problems to crush Australia 3-0 in an international friendly at Cairo Stadium on Wednesday. The Borussia Dortmund man, making his first appearance since picking up a serious knee injury last April, converted a stoppage-time penalty awarded after Australia skipper Lucas Neill fouled Ahmed Mekki to round off a convincing victory for Egypt. He took off his shirt in jubilation and threw it to the enthusiastic crowd before being handed a yellow card which did not spoil his celebration. The Pharaohs were missing a number of key players including Amr Zaki, Ahmed Hassan and Emad Meteb but took heart from a promising display of several new faces. One of those faces, ENPPI striker Ahmed Abdul-Zaher, was rewarded for his battling performance when he opened the scoring in the 29th minute. Three second-half substitutes, including Zidan, combined on the hour mark as Geddo added the second with his first touch. However, the Ahli forward's celebrations were cut short after he sustained a foot injury which forced him to leave the pitch, casting doubts over his ability to take part in his side's anticipated league clash against bitter rivals Ismaili on Sunday. Egypt, who regained their 10th place in the FIFA ranking earlier on Wednesday, face Jordan in another friendly next month. Cagey Half A cagey first half was hardly entertaining but Egypt coach Hassan Shehata appeared content on the touchline after two of the new faces he introduced excelled. Zamalek's holding midfielder Ibrahim Salah was energetic in the heart of Egypt's midfield, repeatedly stealing possession from opponents and distributing passes to the right and left flanks. Abdul-Zaher also made his presence felt with a combative display upfront which helped him unsettle the visitors' defense.
Egypt's first chance fell to the 25-year-old after 14 minutes when playmaker Mohamed Abou-Treika nodded a long ball into his path to curl a first-time shot that narrowly missed the target. Australia exposed the gaps behind natural attacking midfielder Ahmed Samir Farag, who played as a left wing-back due to the absence of the injured Sayed Moawad, to whip in several crosses. One of those crosses, which came from Luke Wilkshire, resulted in a defensive mix-up but Tim Cahill's tame effort was easily cleared by Egypt's ever-reliable central defender Wael Gomaa. Everton midfielder Cahill was guilty of spurning Australia's sole goalscoring opportunity in the 26th minute when he was found unmarked inside the area by a neat pass from Brett Holman but his low shot went wide with the goal at his mercy. Australia were punished three minutes later after some intricate passes shattered their defensive fence. Forward Ahmed Eid was released after an exchange of passes with Abdul-Zaher, including a clever Abou-Treika dummy in between, but his effort was blocked by Australia's resolute defenders. The onrushing Abdul-Zaher notched home on the rebound for his first goal in his second international appearance. Zidan Returns Zidan, who was sidelined for around seven months after tearing his cruciate ligament in a Bundesliga game last season, replaced Abou-Treika shortly after the restart. He dithered on the ball several times but still made his mark, helping Egypt double their advantage on 60 minutes after a swift move. His through pass released Elmohamady down the right and the Sunderland man made a darting run before crossing low for Geddo, who outran his marker to convert it from close range. Egypt were awarded a penalty in the dying minutes when Neill appeared to have pushed striker Mekki of Harras Hodoud. Zidan stepped up to place the ball past the despairing dive of Australia keeper Mark Schwarzer and wrap up the win.
