

It's over!! Ahly are crowned Egyptian champions for the eighth consecutive season!



90+6 A cross from Smouha goes begging! It would have been heartbreaking for Ahly.



90+4' Amr Gamal wastes the chance to settle the tie! He goes one-on-one but he is too slow as Okka intercepts to clear the ball for a corner.



90+3' Smouha's Hamed is also sent off for a second bookable offense. He pays for a reckless challenge on substitute Mohamed Hassan.



90' The referee adds seven minutes of stoppage time. Smouha still have some time to score.



89' Ahly make their final substitution. Karim Bambo is replaced with fellow youngster Mohamed Hassan.



87' Ahly's keeper Sherif Ekramy collects a low shot from El-Egeizi as Smouha pile on pressure in a bid to notch a decisive goal.



86' Ahly's Hossam Ashour is red-carded! He receives his marching orders for a second bookable offense.



86' Four minutes separate Ahly from an eighth consecutive Premier League title.



83' Smouha's Ghanaian striker Ernest Papa Arko comes on instead of Ibrahim Abdel-Khalek. Will he prove Smouha's rescuer in the dying minutes?



81' A substitution for Ahly. Striker Ahmed Raouf replaces youngster Ramadan Sobhi.



79' Smouha make another substitution. Sayed Farid is replaced with Hamada Yehia.



78' The Alexandria-based club have 13 minutes remaining to score and make history. Ahly are likely to sit back in the latter stages.

77' What a chance for Smouha!! They go close to grabbing a stunning lead. A long ball finds striker Hani El-Egeizi, whose angled volley from inside the area grazes the crossbar on its way out.



75' Yedan breathes life into Ahly's left flank with his energetic runs.



74' Too many mis-placed passes at either end is disrupting play. This is arguably one of the poorest games this season.



72' Ahly midfielder Hossam Ashour is also booked.



71' Smouha midfielder Tarek Hamed is booked for catching Ahly's Trezeguet in the face with a flailing arm.



69' A rare chance for Smouha! defender Okka catches two defenders napping to receive a floated free-kick with a free header that goes over the bar!



68' Right-back Ahmed Fathi will now become a central defender. Midfielder Ahmed Manga will play as a right-back.



67' Naguib won't be able to carry on. He is replaced with Burkinabe winger Moussa Yedan.



63' Ahly defender Mohamed Naguib suffers a head cut after a heavy mid-air collision with an opponent.



63' Smouha make their first substitution. Playmaker Ahmed Hammoudi, who apparently sustained an injury, is replaced with Hesham Fathallah.



62' Ahly move the ball around aimlessly. They are facing little opposition from the lethargic Smouha.



58' A tame shot from Mahmoud Trezeguet is easily collected by Abdel-Hamid.



56' A floated Ahly free-kick causes mayhem in the area but keeper Amir Abdel-Hamid stretches his leg to clear a flick-on from Amr Gamal.



54' Bambo makes a bursting run on the right but his low cross is cleared by the defence.



52' Ahly remain relatively better. But both sides are still struggling to carve out openings.



50' Hani El-Egeizi swivels in the area but his subsequent low shot is too weak to trouble Ekramy.



47' Smouha are likely to abandon their cautious approach in the second period.



The second half is underway



The referee blows his halftime whistle



45+1' Ahly midfielder Ahmed Manga receives a yellow card for a sliding tackle on Smouha's Hani El-Egeizi.



45' Smouha notably improve in the last five minutes of the first half after a subdued opening.



43' Another chance for Smouha! Alaa Ali controls a long ball inside the area, swivels and shoots but his effort goes high over.



43' Hammoudi is unsettling Rahil. He skips past him and sends a dangerous-looking low cross but the Ahly defence clears.



41' From the ensuing free-kick, Hammoudi's angled effort is superbly tipped over by Ekramy.



39' Ahly full-back Sabri Rahil receives a yellow card for bringing down Ahmed Hammoudi on the edge of the area.



36' The lively Sobhi darts down the left but his low cross from the byline is cleared by the Smouha backline.



33' In Smouha's first effort, a shot from Alaa Ali is collected by Ahly keeper Sherif Ekramy.



31' Bambo is causing constant menace to Smouha's defence.



28' Amr Gamal goes close! His curling shot from 25 metres goes just wide after some fine individual work from Bambo down the right.



27' Smouha are giving away possession far too easily. Ahly are still in control.



25' Sobh is wrongfully flagged for offside. He was ready to break clear after another defence-splitting pass.



24' Smouha are too cautious. They are merely trying to contain Ahly's forwards.



22' Ahly create their first goal-scoring chance!! The impressive Sobhi skips past two challengers in the middle and sends a threaded pass to midfielder Mahmoud Trezeguet,

who races clear but dithers on the ball to allow Smouha's Ahmed Okka to clear the danger.



20' Smouha are mainly trying to penetrate Ahly's defence through some forays down the left. But they are not successful.



18' Ahly winger Karim Bambo is receiving treatment after being challenged by Ibrahim Abdel-Khalek. It's still a dull affair.



15' Smouha need to up their tempo. They have no choice but to win tonight.



13' A cross from Ahly full-back Sabri Rahil is cleared by the defence. No clear-cut chances so far.



11' Ramadan Sobhi mis-controls a through pass to waste the chance to break clear. Ahly look dangerous upfront.



10' A touched-on free kick from Smouha is easily cleared by the Ahly defence.



8' Both sides are sending some harmless long balls.



6' Ahly youngster Karim Bambo races clear after a deft pass from Ramadan Sobhi but he is flagged for offside.



5' Ahly are sorely missing the presence of their passionate supporters, who usually create a feverish atmosphere at Cairo Stadium.



3' Gamal looks to have hurt his foot. He is receiving treatment.



2' Ahly are relying on line striker Amr Gamal, who has been impressive this season. He is the team's top scorer in the league with nine goals.



The match is underway



21:15 Smouha coach Hamada Sedki also plays with the same starting XI which claimed a 2-1 over Zamalek in Cairo.



21:00 Ahly coach Fathi Mabrouk sticks to the same line-up which beat Zamalek and Petrojet in their previous two matches in the mini-league phase.



20:55 Smouha's starting line-up: Amir Abdel-Hamid, Ayman Ashraf, Abdel-Rahman Farouk, El-Sayed Farid, Sherif Hazem, Ahmed Okka, Tarek Hamed, Ibrahim Abdel-Khalek, Ahmed Hammoudi Alaa Ali, Hani El-Egeizi



20:50 Ahly's starting line-up: Sherif Ekramy, Ahmed Fathi, Mohamed Naguib, Saad Samir, Sabri Rahil, Ahmed Manga, Hossam Ashour, Mahmoud Trezeguet, Ramadan Sobhi, Karim Bambo, Amr Gamal.



20:30 Smouha will become the first club other than Ahly and Zamalek to win the league since 2002 if they spring a surprise tonight.



19:00 Sedki will be depending on the same key players -- Abdel-Rahman Farouk, El-Sayed Farid, Sherif Hazem, Ayman Ashraf, Tarek Hamed, Ibrahim Abdel-Khaleq, Ahmed Hamoudy, Alaa Ali and Hani El-Ogaizy -- who have starred since the beginning of the season, collecting 35 points from 20 matches in the first round, qualifying as the runner-ups of Group A, after Ahly who bagged 40.

18:30 Should Smouha, who sealed top-flight promotion in 2010, cause a major upset, they will make history with their maiden league title.

The league Dark Horse, managed by former Egypt assistant coach Hamada Sedki, have already booked a Champions League spot after being guaranteed at least a second-place finish this season.

18:00 Ahly will be entering the game with a calm approach following their comprehensive victory over Petrojet, according to caretaker coach Fathi Mabrouk – whose Smouha clash will be his final at the helm.

"The win over Petrojet is going to benefit us much when we take on Smouha," Mabrouk said.

17: 30 The Alexandrian club defeated Petrojet 4-1 in the kick-off of the four-team round on 28 June, four days before they smashed Zamalek 2-1. The Cairo-based Zamalek are meeting the Petroleum side at the same time for the third place decider as both were defeated by 36-time league winners Ahly 1-0 and 4-0 respectively.

17:00 Ahly and Smouha will play a title decider. Both have won their previous couple of games in the final mini-league and are equal in points. However Ahly have a better goal difference and need only a draw to claim their 8th straight league title.

16:20 We are about to complete the first season since 2011. The domestic competitions have been cancelled over the past two years because of the turmoil in the country.

Venue: Cairo Stadium

Officials:

Referee: Mahmoud El-Banna

Assistants: Mahmoud Aboulregal, Ahmed Salah

Fourth official: Ibrahim Nourldein

(For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)

Short link:

