The fans react to Al-Ahly’s performance

TOKYO (GoPharaohs.com) - The first team to qualify for two successive FIFA Club World Cups also became the first African side to win a match in the competition, with Egyptian champions El-Ahly disposing of Oceania representitives Auckland City FC 2-0. The team’s performance did not meet some of their fans’ expectations. GoPharaohs.com presents some of what the fans at the ES Forums have to say about their team’s performance.

fahmy:

The match was ‘one-way-traffic’ as one apparently New Zealandish commentator confessed on ART…but we could have scored a lot more if we were more aggressive on the goal. Oh well, I’m happy we got past that peliminary stage now and may the kings of Africa shine infront of Internacionale. We can win. The moment Ahly beat Real Madrid in Cairo a few years ago I realised there is no impossible. We never really got the chance to play against a South American club before….you never know!

Walid Darwish:

pale win for ahly.. I expected a better “looking” win.. anyways a win is a win and they skipped the duck. now for the next game. I see no way for ahly winning it, all I hope for is a good performance.. probably the difference between the Egyptian champions and Brazilian ones is same as Egypt and Brazil on national team level. so please be realistic guys. I know I know the 11 against 11 on the pitch thing. but these are friggin’ Brazil champions.. not Albania or new zealand.
 
footballnut:
 
Even a second division brazilian team would be strong competition. That’s just the difference between south american football and african football. Or Egyptian and Brazilian football. The brazilians I’m sure will be heavily favored against us and rightfully so. Realistically, a respectable showing would be great.
 
Nassar:
 
Very well played game up to the the Newzealanders’ 18 yd box. I think Flavio mis-kicked at least 4 or 5 shots that one would normally expect to be buried in the back of the net under normal circumstances and Met3eb, although held up play well, was ineffective for the most part. Otherwise, I think Shawky, Ashour, and El Shater had very good games, and this is the first time i watch Shawky and don’t want to kill him very solid performance. Met3eb seemed really out of it and Shadi was shaky as usual. I think going into the game with the Brazilians, these are our two biggest worries. We cannot afford missing any chance (we wont get many) we get and there can be absolutely no mistakes in front of Hadary. If we do want to get a result against the brazilians, tigher passing, more running and prob a lone striker up front will be required…. expect Met3eb to make way for either Hassan Most. or Akwety but again, if we play with the same spirit as the final, i dont see us conceding easily and it will be up to Flavio and possibly another gorgeous Treika free kick to see us on the score sheet.
 
masry zamalkawy:
 
The last touch has to get better though if there will be any chance of beating the Brazilian team. Men of the match were Flavio, Abu Treika, Shawky and Gom3a. Shawky’s passing was suprisingly sharp and the Fox Sports commentator thought he was MOM. Did you notice how the players were falling down a lot though looking for a call? Not that Saudi refereeing is much different than hours, but the players have to know they won’t get those doubtfull calls and stay on their feet. Abu Treika, Shawky and Gom3a certainly impressed any European scouts that were looking. Shady’s defending was suspect as usual. He can’t make those mistakes next game and the service from the wings has to be much better.

Sharif Basha:

Poor performance by Ahly, but a win is a win. The finishing was poor. Shawky and Ashour, and even Abu Treika shot off target too many times. And too many back passes that are dangerous. Well, i think we will play better next game. We usually play to the standard of our opponent. Plus, this team will take it to us, and not sit back and defend. One more win guys.

Sherif:

Flavio has an awful first half to be honest. I think he tries to do things that his legs can’t handle. I would have liked to see Wael Ryad in place of Ashour later on in the game. That would have really stunned the New Zealanders.

mvp1ne:

poor finishing against a really weak team - lets be honest. however, i count this game as the icebreaker…they were obviously nervous and anxious to just get on the score sheet and win - to erase the woeful memories from last year - so from that regard they got the job done - and you can see in their 2nd half performance, once they scored - they got composed and the pressure eased off… i think they have a legitimate shot at internacionale on wednesday - only if our boys can be composed and stick to the game plan without getting nervous or intimidated…

Rami:

Ahly didn’t play their best at times especially with the final touch which involved not only mis-kicks but balls going to nobody in particular. As Masry Zamalkawy correctly stated, the wing play was also lacking. But I think Ahly will rise up to the occasion on Wednesday, but of course they will be hesitant at first and hopefully can get into the game early enough so the Brazilians don’t overwhelmingly dominate the match. We can see easily how the passing of Mohamed Abdel Wahab and the injuries of Barakat and Gilberto are affecting Ahly as well as a dominant striker to go along with Flavio and Met3eb. Ahly needs to play physical as the Brazilians will also do so. And yes, as many of you have stated, Ahly will likely get a half dozen chances or so for the whole match and need to convert one or two to have a chance in this game. Ahly can do it though but it will be a hard one. I am really looking forward to another Ahly (egyptian) win Inshallah.