Al-Ahly and Mountain Wolves Share Points in Egyptian Premier League Clash

Al-Ahly threw everything at the Mountain Wolves under the lights at the Arab Contractors Stadium, but walked away with only a 1-1 draw and a long list of regrets in the Egyptian Premier League.

Arab Contractors struck first, against the run of play and against expectation. Islam Gaber buried a penalty in the 38th minute, stunning the Reds. Ahmed Sayed "Zizo" answered from the spot on 57 minutes, and Al-Ahly even thought they had a winner, only to see it wiped away for offside on a night that also brought a serious injury blow.

Mountain Wolves Land the First Punch

Al-Ahly started like a side determined to impose their will early. They pinned Arab Contractors back, moved the ball quickly, and tested the home defence without truly cutting it open.

Soufiane Bendebka curled the first warning shot wide from distance. Zizo followed with a wicked corner that forced the Mountain Wolves to scramble clear. Pressure, yes. Panic, no.

For all that early control, neither goalkeeper had anything meaningful to do until the 20th minute. Then the game almost flipped. Arab Contractors carved Al-Ahly open with a clean break, only for Amr El-Gazzar to race back and rescue his side from what looked a certain opener.

That escape didn’t settle Al-Ahly. It rattled them.

The Mountain Wolves sensed it and pushed higher. Their reward came when Omar Kamal Abdelwahed committed a foul inside the area, and the referee pointed straight to the spot. Islam Gaber stepped up, kept his nerve, and drove home the first goal past Al-Ahly in the 38th minute, sending the stadium into shock and celebration in equal measure.

Al-Ahly tried to respond before the break. El-Gazzar, the earlier saviour, suddenly became the nearly man, glancing a stoppage-time header wide when he should have tested the keeper. The whistle went with Arab Contractors clinging to a clean, deserved lead and Al-Ahly trudging off a goal down.

Chaos, Injury, and a Comeback That Fell Short

The second half barely had time to breathe before it delivered its first twist. Disaster for Al-Ahly: Amr El-Gazzar went down injured and could not continue, forced off in the 49th minute. The man who had bailed them out in the first half left the pitch as the Reds were gearing up to chase the game.

Al-Ahly tried to turn the screw. The match opened up. Mohamed Beker almost unlocked the defence with a pass into the box for Achraf Bencharki, but the ball ran too strong and the chance slipped away.

Then the temperature rose.

Bencharki, always eager to run at defenders, danced through Arab Contractors players and drove into the area. Khaled Abdelfattah flew in with a violent challenge in the 55th minute, and the referee had no choice but to award Al-Ahly a penalty of their own.

Zizo took responsibility. One clean strike. 57 minutes gone. 1-1. The contest reset in an instant.

The equaliser lit the game up. A minute later, another storyline emerged: Emam Ashour stepped onto the pitch, making his first appearance in 112 days. His last outing for the Reds had come against Al-Masry at the end of the 2025/2026 Egyptian Premier League season. The roar that greeted him felt like a second wind for Al-Ahly.

The pressure finally told in the 62nd minute – or so they thought. Mohamed Beker pounced and fired in what looked like Al-Ahly’s second goal. Celebrations erupted, only to be cut short when the referee ruled it out for offside. From ecstasy to exasperation in seconds.

That decision gave Arab Contractors something to cling to. They tightened up, dropped deeper, and fought for every ball, determined not to let the point slip away.

The game then settled into a tense rhythm. Al-Ahly probed, worked the flanks, and tried to create overloads, but the clear-cut openings dried up. The Mountain Wolves, battered but organised, held their line and waited for the clock to help them.

One last moment threatened to break them.

In the 88th minute, Emam Ashour, the returning figurehead, unleashed a superb effort that had the away end holding its breath. The ball flew just a few centimetres over the bar, agonisingly close to a storybook winner and the final twist of the night.

Instead, the chance went begging, the whistle followed, and Arab Contractors walked away with a precious draw. Al-Ahly, left to count the cost of a bruising evening and a serious injury, now have to decide whether this was just a stumble – or a warning sign for the battles to come in their title chase.