Al Ahly suffered a 2–1 defeat away to Ghazl El Mahalla on Tuesday in the third round of Group A in the Egypt Capital Cup.
The hosts struck first through Tunisian forward Rached Arfaoui in the 9th minute with a powerful shot that beat young keeper Mohamed Seiha.
Ahly, who started with several youth players alongside experienced duo Hussein El Shahat and Mostafa El Ash, thought they had equalized when Ghanaian midfielder Ibrahima Kazim scored, but the goal was ruled out for a foul by El Shahat at the start of the move.
Ghazl El Mahalla then had a goal by Mohamed Abdel Latif Grindo disallowed for offside, before Ahly finally leveled in the 43rd minute through Omar Sayed Maawad after a neat pass from El Shahat.
The first half ended amid refereeing controversy after a Mahalla penalty was awarded, then cancelled following VAR review. In the second half, coach Alaa Abdel Aal made attacking changes, and Togo’s Kebo Saidi grabbed the winner from a fine right‑wing cross.
Ahly introduced more youngsters such as Mohamed Zaallouk and Hesham Mostafa, but Mahalla held on, while another match in Group B saw Wadi Degla beat Modern Sport 3–0, with goals from Hamza Hassan, Ahmed Farouk from the spot, and Youssef Ouya.
