Al Ahly lead ZED at half-time after Achraf Bencharki opener in Egyptian Premier League

Achraf Bencharki gave Al Ahly a 1-0 lead against ZED in their Egyptian Premier League meeting, finishing a flowing move created by Marwan Attia before the interval.

Bencharki received Attia’s pass inside the penalty area and produced a low, precise shot which found the left side of the net. It was the first goal of the match after Al Ahly had made the stronger start without creating an early breakthrough.

The opening 15 minutes ended goalless, with Al Ahly recording three attempts to ZED’s none. Al Ahly then continued to dominate possession in midfield, although their passing brought little immediate danger to Ali Lotfy’s goal.

A free-kick was awarded to Al Ahly in their defensive half after Achraf Bencharki was fouled, before another followed when Monsef Bekar was penalised. ZED also won a free-kick in the same area after Tarek Alaa was fouled.

Al Ahly created their first significant opportunity when Ahmed Nabil Kouka struck from inside the box, but ZED defender Abdullah Bakry made an important clearance. Moments later, Ahmed Sayed Zizo delivered a corner from the left towards the edge of the area, where Ali Mahmoud returned the ball with a cross. Taher Mohamed Taher met it with a header, but the attempt sailed over the crossbar.

Bencharki went closer soon afterwards, shooting from inside the penalty area. Ali Lotfy reacted well to push the effort behind for a corner.

At the half-hour mark, Al Ahly were ahead and ZED began to threaten more regularly. Abdelrahman El Banouby headed towards goal from inside the box, but his effort went straight into the hands of Al Ahly goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir.

A short break was then taken for the players to drink and recover. On the restart, Abdelrahman El Banouby was caught offside after positioning himself behind the Al Ahly defensive line. Ali Mahmoud was booked for Al Ahly.

ZED also had a strong chance to equalise when Mahmoud El Araby Okka shot from inside the penalty area without close defensive pressure. The attempt struck the crossbar before falling to Abdelrahman El Banouby in front of an unguarded goal, but he lifted the follow-up over the bar.

Another effort from Mahmoud El Araby Okka was later dealt with by Mostafa Shobeir, who made the save at the second attempt. ZED then worked the ball into the box from the right through Abdelrahman El Banouby, but the low cross struck an Al Ahly defender and ended safely in Shobeir’s arms.

ZED won a corner from the left, taken by Ahmed El Soghary, but the delivery was cleared away from danger. Mostafa Saad later sent another left-sided corner into the area, only for the Al Ahly defence to clear towards the touchline. ZED players appealed for a penalty and the referee waited for a decision from the video assistant referee, but play resumed without a spot-kick being awarded.

Al Ahly also had a late corner from the right, with Ahmed Sayed Zizo delivering into the box. Hady Reyad met the ball with a header, but it was blocked by the ZED defence and finished in the hands of Ali Lotfy.

The referee added four minutes at the end of the half. During that period, ZED won another corner from the left through Ahmed El Soghary, whose cross was again cleared by the defence.

At the interval, Al Ahly led 1-0. The corner count stood at ZED 0-1 Al Ahly at one stage of the half, while the opening statistics showed ZED without a shot compared with three for Al Ahly.