Smouha registered their first Egyptian Premier League victory after surprisingly beating Masri 3-1 in Port Said to hand new coach Hamza Al-Gamal a winning start on Thursday. The Alexandria-based club sacked Frenchman Patrice Neveu after a string of poor results and brought in Al-Gamal, who was also dismissed by Arab Contractors earlier this month. His debut was expected to be spoiled by Masri, who boast several talented players, but promoted Smouha beat the odds to claim all three points and boost their survival hopes after a disastrous start to their maiden Premier League campaign. Ahmed Belal, a 30-year-old striker who was one of Egypt's finest footballers in the early 2000s, put Smouha ahead in the 25th minute after taking advantage of a rebound. The former Ahli and Egypt frontman also found the net in Smouha's last-gasp 1-1 draw at home to Gaish in their previous game. Burkina Faso striker Abdoulaye Cisse brought Masri level four minutes later but Smouha regained their lead on 37 minutes through a goal from Samuel Affum. The Ghanaian forward eluded several challengers with his pace before sending a low shot home from inside the area. Affum's compatriot Godwin Attram put the icing on the cake in the 66th minute after curling a free kick into the top corner of the net. Smouha remained at the bottom of the 16-team table but are now just three points adrift of safety. Masri were jeered by their own fans after slumping to their second consecutive defeat, having conceded a stoppage-time goal to lose 1-0 to Zamalek last Sunday. The Port Said club lie eighth in the table on 16 points from 12 matches.
