Petrojet held in Port Said

الأحد، 21 سبتمبر 2008 - 00:24

كتب : Hatem Maher

Othman scored for Masri

Petrojet failed to capitalize on Ismaili's stumble after being held to a 2-2 draw by Masri in Port Said in an exciting Egyptian League clash on Saturday.

Mokhtar Mokhtar's men surrendered their lead twice to allow Masri claim a home draw.

Lively left-back Osama Mohamed stunned the home crowd in the first minute to put Petrojet ahead.

Masri striker Ahmed Othman leveled the score three minutes after the restart but Mohamed Koffi restored Petrojet's lead ten minutes later.

Substitute Mohamed Al-Gabbas secured a share of spoils in the 72nd minute, moments after his introduction.

Despite their second successive draw, Petrojet are still on top of the league table with 11 points, one ahead of second-placed Ismaili, who were handed a 3-2 defeat by Arab Contractors on Friday.

The Petroleum club missed out on extending their lead on the summit to three points.

Hassan's Reactions

Masri coach Hossam Hassan watched the match from the stands as he serves a six-match touchline ban for trying to assault the referee of his side's league game against Telecom Egypt.

However, the former Egypt striker was still overreacting to any decision that comes against his side.

He was caught on TV cameras insulting referee Essam Abdul-Fattah on several occasions.

Hassan's Masri saw themselves a goal behind after 23 seconds, thanks to a dreadful error from defender Mohamed Gaber.

Gaber failed to control a pass from his teammate. Osama pounced to gather the ball and go clear before firing a powerful shot into the roof of the net from inside the area.

Masri striker Mohamed Fahim thought he notched the equalizer in the 11th minute when he headed home Othman's cross.

But his goal was disallowed for offside, to the frustration of Hassan. TV replays justified Abdul-Fattah's decision.

Seven minutes before the break, former Contractors striker Fahim was unlucky to see his close-range header denied by the woodwork.

Petrojet have good attacking talents which help them expose the oppositions' backline, but their slack defending often costs them.

That was the case in the 48th minute when Othman drew the hosts level. He was found unmarked by Ahmed Shedid's low cross to slot home from close range.

At the other end, Masri also produced awful defensive mistakes. They were punished when Ivorian midfielder Koffi restored Petrojet's advantage in the 58th minute.

He controlled Rami Saied's right-wing cross and shot into the bottom corner with aplomb.

Hassan's effective substitutions helped Masri secure a share of spoils in the 72nd minute.

Nigerian energetic forward Efosa Eguakun fed Al-Gabbas with a deft through pass and the latter made no mistake from inside the area to grab the equalizer.

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