Mahmoud Abdel Rahim “Ghenesh,” the goalkeeper for Modern Future, showcased a stellar performance, propelling his team to the final of the Egyptian Super Cup.
Both teams resorted to penalty kicks to determine the finalist, and after a marathon of 17 kicks for each side, the winner was eventually decided.
Awaiting Modern Future in the final is the victor of the clash between Ahly and Ceramica Cleopatra.
The match concluded with a goalless draw in regular time at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium at the Al Jazeera Club.
The penalty shootout ended 14-13 in favor of Modern Future after 17 kicks, with Ghenesh blocking four penalty shots.
In contrast, Ahmed Mehoub, the goalkeeper for Pyramids, saved one and witnessed the crossbar and post deny two additional attempts.
The initial phase of the game witnessed Pyramid players dominating possession, albeit without posing any significant threat to Mahmoud Ghenesh’s goal.
The first quarter-hour of the match passed without any notable goal-scoring opportunities for either team.
In the 19th minute, Riccardo Formosinho, the coach of Future, made the first substitution, replacing the injured Mohamed Abdel Salam with Mohamed Rabie.
Mustafa Fathi missed a clear chance to open the scoring for Pyramids in the 22nd minute, but Ghenesh easily saved the attempt.
Future faced further complications with another forced substitution in the 25th minute, introducing Papa Toundi Bilo for the injured Mohamed Farouk.
The match continued with Pyramid’s dominance, but without any real scoring chances.
Pyramids squandered a definite goal in the 43rd minute after a header exchange between Walid El Karti and Mohamed Hamdi, the latter hitting the ball just above the crossbar.
Kigali Dramé nearly opened the scoring for Future in the first-half injury time, but his shot sailed over the crossbar.
Formosinho introduced Ahmed Atef instead of Dramé just before the start of the second half.
Atef missed a clear opportunity in the 77th minute, facing Ahmed Mehoub, Pyramids’ goalkeeper, who made an exceptional save, deflecting the ball for a corner.
In another counterattack, Abdelkabir El Wadi missed a sure goal in the 79th minute.
The last ten minutes witnessed great excitement, with Pyramids coming close to sealing the game in the 91st minute, but Mohamed Rabie cleared the ball off the goal line.
The first five penalties of the shootout concluded in a 4-4 tie, with Hisham Adel missing for Future and Fakhry Lakay for Pyramids.
With the sixth penalty, both Ghanam Mohamed for Future and Osama Jalal for Pyramids failed to convert.
Bilo, the Future professional, missed the tenth kick, as did Mohamed Lashin for Pyramids.
The goalkeeping duo of Mahmoud Ghenesh and Ahmed Mehoub successfully converted the eleventh penalty.
The deadlock persisted until Osama Jalal missed the seventeenth penalty, securing Modern Future’s qualification.
Modern Future will face the winner of the Ahly vs. Ceramica Cleopatra match next Thursday evening.
