Pyramids F.C. fail to retake second spot after draw with El Gaish
Pyramids F.C. missed the chance to reclaim second place from Zamalek after they fought back from a two-goal deficit to draw 2-2 with El Gaish at the 30 June Stadium in Cairo on Sunday.
El Gaish, who came into the game in 15th place, took a shock lead in the first minute of the game through Nasr Mansi.
Pyramids responded and won a penalty less than 15 minutes later but veteran midfielder Abdallah Said missed the resulting spot-kick.
Spurred by that let-off El Gaish, pushed for a second goal and were rewarded with a penalty of its own, which Ahmed Samir converted to double the lead on the half hour mark.
El Gaish’s game began to unravel in the second half starting with the dismissal of midfielder Mohanad Lasheen in the 52nd minute for a second yellow card.
Then, on the hour mark, striker Amor Layouni was introduced in a substitution that would inspire a fight-back from the CAF Confederation Cup semifinalists.
12 minutes later, Layouni set up Mohamed El-Gabbas to pull one back as Pyramids capitalized on their extra man advantage.
Layouni would then combine with Ghana’s John Antwi, another substitute, to level the game and earn Pyramids a point, which left them in third place, two points behind Zamalek in the race for a Champions League spot.
El Gaish, meanwhile, climbed up to 14th with 18 points; they are just two places and two points clear of the relegation zone.