Abu Qir Fertilizers make historic Egyptian Premier League start as Maged Abdel-Aty explains defensive retreat

Abu Qir Fertilizers manager Maged Abdel-Aty said fear of conceding an equaliser or suffering defeat caused his players to retreat deep after taking the lead against National Bank of Egypt, despite securing a historic victory.

Abu Qir Fertilizers began their first-ever Egyptian Premier League campaign with a 1-0 win over National Bank of Egypt on the opening day of the new season. Ali Hussein scored the only goal of the match to give the newly promoted side three points and move them to the top of the table after the first round of fixtures.

Speaking to On Sport, Abdel-Aty praised his team’s performance but admitted their approach changed during the match.

“We played a great match against a team that has quality, solutions and big names,” said Abdel-Aty.

“We started the match well, then we dropped back for no reason in the middle of the first half. There were many misplaced passes, especially because this was our first match of the season.”

He added: “The fear of losing or drawing after scoring the goal caused the players to defend the win more deeply.”

The result came despite Abu Qir Fertilizers having only 18% possession, compared with 82% for Ayman El Ramady’s National Bank of Egypt side. National Bank of Egypt also registered 32 shots during the match, but Abu Qir Fertilizers goalkeeper Mahmoud Abdel Rahim “Gennesh” made nine saves to protect his side’s narrow advantage.

The decisive moment arrived in the 59th minute. Ali Hussein broke clear from before the halfway line after taking advantage of a defender’s fall, then sent a low shot into the right-hand side of the net beyond National Bank of Egypt goalkeeper Abdel Aziz El-Baloty.

Abu Qir Fertilizers secured promotion to the Egyptian Premier League last season for the first time in the club’s history. Their participation also made them the 77th team to compete in the competition.

Their opening-day victory was therefore significant beyond the three points, marking the club’s first win in the top flight and immediately placing them at the summit of the standings.

The promoted side will face Pyramids FC in the second round of the season as they continue their first campaign among Egypt’s leading clubs.

National Bank of Egypt, meanwhile, will look to respond when they host Zamalek at Cairo International Stadium in their next fixture. Their opening defeat came despite dominating possession and creating a high volume of attempts, but they were unable to beat Gennesh or recover from Hussein’s second-half finish.