Ali Maher reaches 20th league win as Ceramica Cleopatra beat Smouha

Ali Maher celebrated his 20th Egyptian Premier League victory as Ceramica Cleopatra secured a 2-0 win over Smouha in the fourth round, scoring both goals within an eight-minute spell after half-time.

Samir El Iraqi and Hussein El Sayed were on target for Ceramica, who climbed to third in the table with nine points from three successive victories.

The result means Maher has now recorded 20 wins in 40 Egyptian Premier League matches in charge of Ceramica Cleopatra. The figure does not include matches in other competitions, giving him a 50% league win rate with the club.

Smouha, meanwhile, suffered their third defeat of the season. They have also recorded one draw and remain on one point, leaving them 19th in the standings. They are the only side in the competition yet to score a goal.

Team changes

Maher made one change to his Ceramica Cleopatra starting line-up, handing Mohamed Alaa his first appearance for the club in place of goalkeeper Mohamed Bassam.

Smouha restored Pape Badji to the attack after the striker missed their previous match against Al Ahly. The forward returned to lead the Blue Wave’s front line in an attempt to find their first goal of the campaign.

Tight first half

Smouha appeared to make a fast start when Pape Badji found the net after only 28 seconds. However, the goal was ruled out for offside.

The visitors continued to threaten Ceramica Cleopatra’s goal, but their attacking moves repeatedly broke down because of their positioning. Smouha players were caught offside seven times during the match.

Ceramica also had a goal disallowed before the interval. Marwan Osman appeared to finish after breaking clear in the 41st minute, but the effort was ruled out for offside after a difficult one-on-one situation.

The first half ended goalless, with neither side able to turn its chances into a valid goal.

Ceramica strike twice

The match changed shortly after the restart. In the 48th minute, Ceramica Cleopatra worked the ball through a series of passes inside the penalty area before Samir El Iraqi finished to give his side the lead.

Eight minutes later, Hussein El Sayed doubled the advantage. He took advantage of confusion in the Smouha defence and completed the move with relative ease to make it 2-0.

Smouha’s attacking performance declined after the second goal, while Ceramica Cleopatra protected their advantage. The visitors could not produce a response and the match ended with Maher’s side securing a third consecutive league victory.

The win strengthens Ceramica’s position near the top of the Egyptian Premier League, while Smouha remain in the relegation places without a goal from their opening four matches.