Army defeats Ismaily 1 - 0

The Army defeated Ismaily by a lone goal in their Saturday match in the Egyptian League. Walid Osman scored for the Army in the 33rd minute during a very mediocre first half.  The second half witnessed much more open play, but Ismaily was unable to equalize.

The result leaves the Army with a comfortable 22 points from 14 matches.  Ismaily remains at 16 points, three points away from the relegation zone.  Ismaily has an extra game at hand, against Ahly in Cairo, which is scheduled to be played in April.

Ismaily has been unable to collect a single point from their away matches this season.  Due to poor performances and financial burdens, the club has burned through two Boards of Directors and several coaches in the past few months.  Dr. Abdel Meniem Emara, who was appointed club President last December, has declared that he does not wish to continue with the club.  He has called for elections to introduce a new Board next August.  He has also taken several steps to try and set the team back up on its feet, including recalling German ex-coach Theo Bucker to manage the team.  Despite this, Ismaily continues to falter.

On another note, Ismaily player Ahmed Fathy has stated that he has not received any formal offers from abroad, despite his participation in the African Nations Cup last month.  Fathy was benched after a mediocre performance against Morocco in Egypt’s second match of the tournament.  However, he was brought on in the final against Ivory Coast, and did a spectacular job marking striker Arouna.  Both Mido and Ahmed Hassan praised Fathy’s performance and stated that he was one of Egypt’s best young prospects.  Fathy received some interest from Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger last year, but after a brief trial stint at Arsenal, no formal offer was made.