With two penalties and a disallowed goal: Al-Ahly survive with a point against Al-Mokawloon on the night of Ashour’s return

Al-Ahly couldn’t find a way past the Mountain Wolves on a thrilling night at the Arab Contractors Stadium, settling for a hard-fought 1-1 draw in the Egyptian Premier League.

Arab Contractors took everyone by surprise when their star Islam Gaber struck in the 38th minute. Ahmed Sayed “Zizo” hauled Al-Ahly level on 57 minutes, in a match that also saw a second Reds goal chalked off and a serious injury.

A fiery first half: Mountain Wolves stun Al-Ahly with Gaber goal

Al-Ahly piled on the expected pressure from the start. Soufiane Bendebka fired the first effort wide from outside the box, and Zizo whipped in a dangerous corner that the Arab Contractors defence cleared.

Real danger, though, was absent despite that dominance. Neither side managed a shot on target until the 20th minute, when Amr El-Gazzar rescued Al-Ahly from the game’s most dangerous chance after the Arab Contractors striker broke clean through.

The referee then pointed to the spot after Omar Kamal Abdelwahed fouled inside the area. Islam Gaber stepped up and converted to put the first goal past Al-Ahly in the 38th minute.

Half-time arrived with the Mountain Wolves holding a shock lead through a clean goal, after Amr El-Gazzar wasted the chance to level with a header that flew wide in stoppage time.

A crazy second half: Al-Ahly’s return and joy left incomplete

Disaster struck at the restart. Amr El-Gazzar picked up a serious injury that forced him off in the 49th minute, just as Al-Ahly tried to crank up the attack.

Mohamed Beker nearly made the difference with an attempted pass to Achraf Bencharki inside the box that ran too strong. Bencharki then dribbled past the Arab Contractors players and won a penalty after a violent challenge by Khaled Abdelfattah in the 55th minute.

Zizo converted from the spot to level things up for Al-Ahly in the 57th minute, dragging the match back to square one.

A minute later, Emam Ashour made his first appearance in 112 days. His last outing for the Reds had come against Al-Masry at the close of the 2025/2026 Egyptian Premier League season.

The match caught fire in the 62nd minute when Mohamed Beker fired Al-Ahly’s second, only for the referee to rule it out for offside. That let Arab Contractors cling on to their precious draw until the end.

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Relative calm settled over the game after the equaliser, with both sides probing for a winner. Real danger came in the 88th minute when the returning Emam Ashour unleashed a superb effort that flew a few centimetres over the Arab Contractors goal, squandering the chance to kill off the match.