Pyramids through to Confed Cup knockout stage with victory at Zambia's Nkana

Ahram Online , Wednesday 21 Apr 2021

With this victory, Pyramids reached the ninth point to lie second in Group D behind Raja Casablanca (15 points) and above Nkana (6 points) and Tanzania’s Namungo (0 points)

Pyramids FC

Pyramids FC’s veteran midfielder Abdallah El-Said scored the winner against Zambia’s Nkana in Wednesday’s 1-0 victory as the team made it to the knockout stage of the African Confederation Cup with one match to spare in their group.

Both sides were playing with caution without letting spaces between lines for fear of being infiltrated by the opponent, finishing the first half without scoring any goals, until El-Said scored the winner in the 77th minute.

The 24-year-old key player Ramadan Sobhi created a chance for El-Said by kicking a through pass inside the right side of the box. El-Said made a well-executed shot towards the wide angle of the goal to hit the bar before resting in Nkana’s nets.

The Argentinean coach Rodolfo Arruabarrena’s job was at stake if he failed to win this critical game, as Pyramids’ board had been upset with the team’s results in the latest period.

The team is now fifth in the premier domestic competition with 27 points, six behind leaders Zamalek, who have two games in hand, after finishing third in the Egyptian Premier League in the past two seasons and reaching the Egypt Cup final in 2019 and the Confederation Cup final last year.

Also, they were facing the nightmare of elimination from the African Confederation Cup after being defeated in both home and away games by Morocco’s Raja Casablanca, despite winning the first two matches.

With this victory, Pyramids reached the ninth point to lie second in Group D behind Raja Casablanca (15 points) and above Nkana (6 points) and Tanzania’s Namungo (0 points). They will go through even if they lose their final match, given their better head-to-head record over Nkana.

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