Al Ittihad Alexandria claim first league win with 2-0 victory over Abu Qir Fertilizers

Al Ittihad Alexandria secured their first victory of the league season by beating Abu Qir Fertilizers 2-0 in the third round of the competition at Alexandria Stadium.

Hossam Hassan opened the scoring for the hosts in the 68th minute before Ishaq Saviour added a second goal in the sixth minute of stoppage time. The result gives Al Ittihad four points from their opening three matches.

Hassan was named player of the match after taking his career league tally to 75 goals.

Al Ittihad began the campaign with a goalless draw against Zamalek before losing 3-1 to Ceramica Cleopatra in their second fixture. Their victory over Abu Qir Fertilizers lifts them to ninth in the table, level on points with Modern Sport and ZED.

Abu Qir Fertilizers remain on three points and occupy 13th place.

The match began cautiously, with neither side able to establish an early advantage. Abu Qir Fertilizers created the first clear opportunity when Mahmoud Abu Gouda tested Al Ittihad goalkeeper Sobhi Soliman, who reacted well to push the effort behind for a corner.

Al Ittihad then threatened through Joseph Arumala, but Abu Qir goalkeeper Mahmoud Abdel Rahim “Genesh” produced two important saves. He first denied Arumala’s header before making another strong intervention to stop the striker after he had gone through one-on-one.

The opening half ended without a goal, with Genesh’s performance keeping Abu Qir Fertilizers on level terms.

There was an early flashpoint after the interval when Al Ittihad players protested to referee Ibrahim Mohamed following a foul awarded against their side in favour of Abu Qir player Ramez Milad.

Genesh continued to impress and made another decisive save in the 60th minute, keeping out a dangerous effort from Al Ittihad’s Nour Alaa inside the penalty area.

Al Ittihad defender Mido Mostafa came close soon afterwards when he struck a powerful shot from inside the box, but the ball flew narrowly over the crossbar.

The deadlock was finally broken in the 68th minute. Al Ittihad succeeded in finding a way through Abu Qir’s well-organised defence, with Hossam Hassan finishing to put the home side ahead.

Abu Qir Fertilizers pushed to remain in the contest, but Al Ittihad secured the points deep into added time. Ishaq Saviour raced clear and finished past Genesh in the sixth minute of stoppage time to score the second goal for “Zaeem El-Thaghr”, the nickname used for Al Ittihad Alexandria.

The final whistle confirmed a 2-0 win, giving Al Ittihad their first league success of the season after a draw and a defeat in their opening two matches.