Beleaguered Ahly thrashed by Smouha in Egyptian league after crowd trouble
Omar Zaazou , Thursday 17 Dec 2015
Ahly looked to have been affected by pre-match trouble caused by their own crowd to slump to an embarrassing 3-0 defeat by Smouha


A beleaguered Ahly side endured a nightmarish night after being handed a 3-0 league home defeat at the hands of Smouha following a two-hour delay in match kickoff due to crowd trouble.

A penalty from ex-Zamalek striker Khaled Kamar gave the Alexandrians the lead in the 24th minute, before Islam Mohareb bagged a brace in the second half to condemn Ahly to their second defeat of the season.

The match, which was initially due to kick off at 19:45 CLT, started two hours later after a group of fans, believed to belong to Ahly's Ultras, gathered to prevent the team's bus from heading towards Cairo's Petrosport Stadium.

With the Ahly bus's path blocked off by the club fans, thought to be angry at the authorities' decision to delay the return of supporters to the stands, players had to head to the stadium on their own.

Some managed to use their private cars after getting out of the hotel's backdoor while others were stranded at their own hotel unable to get past their own supporters.

The Ahly die-hard ultras fans are well believed to be behind the disruption that took place before the game, with a statement on their official Facebook page hinting at their involvement in the incident.

With some questioning the absence of security needed to disperse the crowds, a police official stated that they had to exercise self-restraint to avoid the escalation of the issue.

"We had to deal with the issue with some wisdom, we had to exercise self-restraint," a senior security official told a TV program.

Security forces used to come under immense criticism in Egypt for their excessive use of force, especially after the Air Defense Stadium massacre which witnessed the death of some 20 Zamalek fans in February.

The game was largely controlled by Ahly, who started the game with a 4-3-3 formation, but it was the 23rd minute that saw the referee point to the spot after Ahmed Hegazy had been adjudged to have fouled striker Ahmed Temsah inside the area.

Kamar made no mistake from nine yards to give the visitors the lead, as they now sat back to defend their narrow advantage while relying on counter attacks.

And their strategy paid off, with two counter attacks seeing Smouha exploit the spaces behind, with Mohareb punishing the Reds twice in the 58th minute and 85th minute respectively.

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