Mountain Wolves Stun Al-Ahly in Dramatic Draw
Al-Ahly arrived at the Arab Contractors Stadium expecting three points. They left with questions, a serious injury, and only a 1-1 draw against a fearless Arab Contractors side that refused to bow.
On a night heavy with noise and tension, the Mountain Wolves bit first.
Gaber Strikes, Al-Ahly Stunned
Al-Ahly did what Al-Ahly always do: they took the ball, pushed high, and tried to suffocate the game early.
Soufiane Bendebka let fly from distance, missing the target but setting the tone. Ahmed Sayed "Zizo" whipped in a menacing early corner, only for the Arab Contractors defence to stand firm and clear their lines. The pattern looked familiar – red shirts circling, yellow shirts scrambling.
But the real danger came from the hosts.
For 20 minutes, neither goalkeeper had a save to make. Then Arab Contractors sliced through. Their striker burst clean through on goal, and only Amr El-Gazzar’s desperate intervention kept Al-Ahly from going behind. It was the first real jolt of the night, a warning that the Mountain Wolves weren’t here to survive – they were here to strike.
The breakthrough arrived in the 38th minute. Omar Kamal Abdelwahed mistimed a challenge inside the area, the referee pointed straight to the spot, and the stadium crackled. Islam Gaber stepped up, calm and ruthless, and drove the penalty home to put Arab Contractors 1-0 up and hand Al-Ahly their first concession of the night.
Shock? Yes. Fluke? No.
Al-Ahly tried to respond before the break. El-Gazzar found space in stoppage time and rose to meet a cross, but his header flashed wide. The whistle went with the Mountain Wolves still ahead, their clean, clinical goal the difference in a first half that left the champions chasing.
Injury Blow and a Wild Turn of Events
The second half barely had time to breathe before it took a dark turn for Al-Ahly.
In the 49th minute, El-Gazzar – already involved in key moments at both ends – went down with a serious injury. He couldn’t continue. As he left the pitch, the mood around Al-Ahly shifted from frustration to concern, even as they tried to crank up the tempo and pin Arab Contractors back.
Mohamed Beker almost carved the hosts open with a threaded pass into the box for Achraf Bencharki, but the ball ran too heavy. The chance was gone. The pressure, though, was rising.
Then came the chaos.
Bencharki wriggled his way past defenders inside the area, his feet too quick, his intent too sharp. Khaled Abdelfattah flew into a violent challenge, and there was only one outcome. Penalty to Al-Ahly in the 55th minute.
Zizo took responsibility. From 12 yards, he did what Gaber had done at the other end – sent the goalkeeper the wrong way and dragged Al-Ahly level in the 57th minute. 1-1, and suddenly the match was reset, the noise surging again.
Barely a minute later, another twist. Emam Ashour stepped back onto the pitch for the first time in 112 days, his last appearance for the Reds dating back to the end of the 2025/2026 Egyptian Premier League season against Al-Masry. His return alone felt like a storyline.
The game caught fire in the 62nd minute. Beker pounced and lashed home what looked like Al-Ahly’s second goal, only for the assistant’s flag and the referee’s decision to cut celebrations short. Offside. The Mountain Wolves clung on, their point still intact.
Ashour’s Almost-Moment
After that flurry, the match settled into a tense arm-wrestle.
Al-Ahly probed, Arab Contractors resisted. The champions pushed their full-backs higher, tried to drag defenders out of position, but the hosts stayed compact, disciplined, and stubborn. The early chaos gave way to a more cautious rhythm, each side wary of making the mistake that would cost everything.
Then, as the clock ticked towards the 90th minute, Ashour nearly wrote the perfect comeback script.
In the 88th minute, the returning midfielder unleashed a superb effort from range. It had the goalkeeper beaten, the away end holding its breath, and the net almost shaking – but the ball skimmed just a few centimetres over the bar. The chance to kill the game, gone by the narrowest of margins.
Arab Contractors saw out the final minutes, every clearance cheered like a goal, every tackle a small victory. When the whistle went, the Mountain Wolves had their draw. Al-Ahly had their equaliser, but not the statement win they wanted.
On a night that offered drama, controversy, and a reminder of how hard it is to win away in this league, one question lingers: will dropped points like these come back to haunt Al-Ahly when the title race tightens?
