Egypt eased to a 5-1 win over minnows Tanzania Wednesday in their first Nile Basin tournament match at Arab Contractors Stadium. Al-Sayed Hamdi opened the scoring after four minutes before Mohamed Abou-Treika doubled the hosts' lead eight minutes later. An own goal from Nadir Haroub left Tanzania with a mountain to climb in the 24th minute while Hamdi hit the fourth three minutes from the hour mark to add to their woes. Ahmed Ali completed the rout 13 minutes from time but Tanzania's consolation goal was scored on 80 minutes. The referee showed no cards in the game. On the same day, Kenya beat Sudan 1-0 in the competition's opener before Uganda defeated Burundi 3-1. Pressure Upfront
Egypt piled up pressure upfront right from the beginning. Petrojet ace Hamdi headed home a diagonal cross from Farag to give Egypt an early lead. Abou-Treika, who showed off his dribbling skills on a number of occasions, ensured the superiority of Hassan Shehata's team when released a low shot that deflected off the post and into the net. The Ahli veteran was about to complete a brace shortly afterwards when he hit a poor clearance from inside the area high over. A Farag cross was diverted into the net by Tanzania's Haroub to give the Pharaohs a three-goal lead. The visitors failed to show any fluency throughout the game but a blunder from Egypt goalie Abdul-Wahed Al-Sayed could have greatly embarrassed him. The ball went through his palms but he was lucky that it missed the target.
Shikabala could have got his name on the scoresheet when he saw his precise curling free kick competently blocked by the keeper in the 37th minute. Zamalek star Shika was denied by the post from close range later on. Egypt Keep Upper Hand The African champions kept the upper hand while their opponents remained unable to redeem themselves in a less eventful second half. Egypt coach Shehata made several substitutions after the interval, sending in Walid Soliman and Geddo instead of Abou-Treika and Shikabala respectively. Ahmed Fathi whipped in an inch-perfect cross that once again found the in-form Hamdi, who headed it into the net with aplomb. Ali netted a similar goal with a powerful header, when he rose unopposed to connect with another Farag cross. Tanzania pulled one back when their striker beat his marker to latch onto a low cross and score from point-blank range.
