Aswan, who are currently playing in Egypt’s second tier, had a stunning start of the game when Mohamed Gedo met a corner to open the scoring in the 9th minute.
The Whites dominated play and pressed forward until getting a deserved lead in the 33rd minute when defender Mahmoud Alaa was found unmarked at the far post to slot home from close range.
Three minutes later, Ahmed “Zizo” El-Sayed combined with Achraf Bencharki in a quick counter to set up Youssef “Obama” Ibrahim inside the six yards to complete the comeback.
All the drama came in the second half, as Aswan upped their game and came close to turning their fortunes, but Awaad denied Mohamed Rezk then Ahmed Dahroug from the spot kick in the 55th and 75th minutes.
There was another claim in the 81st minute, and despite a VAR review it was turned down.
The Upper Egypt side pressed at the later stages, but Awaad, the uncontested hero of this game, pulled a couple more saves to seal their qualification to the final game.
Egypt Cup 2021 has been put on hold for almost a year due to an overwhelming schedule. Zamalek will have to wait for its rival as Ahly, Pyramids FC, Petrojet and Enppi are still competing in the quarter finals.
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