Ceramica Cleopatra beat National Bank 2-0 as Mohamed Reda Bobbo and Amr Qalawa strike

Ceramica Cleopatra secured a 2-0 victory over National Bank in the fifth week of the Egyptian League, with Mohamed Reda Bobbo and Amr Qalawa scoring in the second half.

The match was goalless at half-time, despite Ceramica Cleopatra controlling 61% of possession compared with National Bank’s 39%. The ball was largely contested in midfield during the opening period, with neither side creating a clear-cut opportunity.

National Bank’s Ahmed Madbouly sent two efforts wide, while his second attempt went over the crossbar. Ceramica Cleopatra’s Amr Qalawa also missed the target from outside the penalty area, and Mohamed Reda Bobbo tried to catch Ahmed Sobhi off his line with a shot from near the halfway line that cleared the bar.

Ceramica Cleopatra goalkeeper Mohamed Alaa dealt with a dangerous National Bank attack shortly before the interval, making an excellent save to keep out Mostafa Shalaby’s header from Osama Faisal’s cross. He also collected a delivery from Hussein El Sayed, while Ahmed Sobhi held a header from Gradisar inside the area.

The first half included a short water break, and Ahmed Belhaj was booked for Ceramica Cleopatra. Ceramica manager Ali Maher also received a yellow card for protesting a decision by the referee. Three minutes were added at the end of the opening 45 minutes.

Ceramica Cleopatra took the lead soon after the restart. Mohamed Reda Bobbo received the ball inside the penalty area and fired a powerful shot into the top-left corner to make it 1-0.

National Bank responded with a substitution, followed by a second change, while Ceramica Cleopatra made its first substitution, an enforced one. National Bank continued to threaten from the left, but Mohamed Alaa produced another fine stop to deny Mostafa Shalaby’s header from Osama Faisal’s cross.

The hosts doubled their advantage through Amr Qalawa. His powerful long-range effort flew into the bottom-right corner, leaving the goalkeeper with no chance.

Ceramica Cleopatra made further changes, completing its third, fourth and fifth substitutions. National Bank also made a third change. Mahmoud El Gazzar and Ali Hamdy were booked for National Bank, while the officials introduced a brief stoppage for the players to take on water.

With 15 minutes remaining, the match commentary recorded National Bank as leading 2-0, although the two goals described in the report were scored by Ceramica Cleopatra. Possession later stood at 52% for Ceramica Cleopatra and 48% for National Bank.

Ceramica continued to circulate the ball in midfield during the closing stages. Sayed Abdallah shot wide from distance, while Amr El Solia also failed to find the target. Five minutes of added time were played before the final whistle.

The matchday list also included Ali Hamdy, Ahmed Belhaj, Amr El Solia, Marwan Othman, Ayman Saad Moka, Mohamed Ashraf Bencharki, Mohamed Nasser, Khaled Abdel Shafy, Sayed Abdallah, Samir El Iraqi, Ragab Nabil, Mahmoud El Gazzar, Ahmed Yasser Rayan, Abdel Aziz El Balouty, Fawzi El Hannawy, Mohamed Alaa, Yaw Annor, Mostafa Shalaby, Ahmed Madbouly, Rashad El Metwally, Ahmed Hany and Abdallah Magdy.