Egypt vs. New Zealand: In a League of Their Own

 MANCHESTER, England — On February 1, 2012, Egypt experienced one of the worst football-related incidents in its history. It is known as the “Port Said Stadium disaster” in which thousands of fans started to riot.

It followed a game between top Premier League clubs Al-Masry and Al-Ahly. The riots occurred after a 3-1 victory by Al-Masry, leading to thousands of fans invading the pitch and attacking rival fans. A total of 79 people died with over a thousand more injured.

This horrific incident led to the Egyptian Premier League ceasing.

With five months having passed since the disaster, many have questioned the impact that halting the Premier League will have on Egypt's Olympic hopefuls. Of the 18 players who traveled to London, 17 played in the Egyptian Premier League last season, so the lack of competitive games could have a major impact on their hopes of progressing in the tournament.

After Egypt's 1-1 draw with New Zealand on Sunday, New Zealand’s Kosta Barbarouses claimed,to The Reporters' Academy, that “at the end of the day we’re all professional footballers and it’s our responsibility to last 90 minutes.” Kiwis captain Ryan Nelsen echoed this view, again to The Reporters' Academy, stating New Zealand didn’t get any advantage from Egypt’s lack of league action and that “guys have had 6 to 8 weeks off” and (we) “weren’t in fit shape either."

Having already lost to Belarus, Egypt were hoping to start getting some points on the board. They aimed to do this at the expense of New Zealand, not only a team sitting on zero points, but also a team that has yet to record a win at the Olympics.

However, even though Egypt started the better of the two teams, it was New Zealand that put their noses in front. A Michael McGlinchey corner was whipped in and met by the rising Tommy Smith, whose header fell kindly at the feet of West Brom striker Chris Wood, who only had to prod the ball home.

The Africans were left to rue numerous chances, including a first-time shot from Mohamed Aboutrika that went hopelessly wide, with the scores still goalless. Egypt continued to boss proceedings as Aboutrika, Ahmed Fathi and Mohamed El Neny all saw their shots fire straight at Michael O’Keeffe in the Kiwis’ goal.

The lack of regular club football didn’t seem to affect The Pharaoh’s ability to carve chances as again O’Keeffe saved well from Saleh Gomaa moments before Mohamed Salah hit a fierce drive wide.

But the pressure finally paid off. Salah, the only player not affected by the League cancellation, climbed well to nod a Aboutrika cross past a helpless O’Keeffe, knotting the score at 1-1.

Shortly after it should’ve been 2-1 to Egypt. Aboutrika, the architect for the first, swung a great ball in only to see Emad Moteab head a great chance wide.

The second half continued as the first half had ended. Aboutrika rasped a volley close. New Zealand, on the other hand, seemed content to sit back and absorb wave after wave of Egyptian attack, hoping to counter. This almost worked when Marco Rojas’ perfectly weighted cross found McGlinchey only for his header to be easily saved.

Both Fathi and Moteab had great chances to win it late on. Firstly, Fathi latched on to an Aboutrika pass before failing to get his shot away. Then, when the game was almost certainly heading for a draw, Egypt’s No. 10 found the ball at his feet and danced past the trailing O’Keeffe, only to blaze his shot over the bar.

This piece was written by Mike of The Reporters' Academy, a media production company run by young people. The Reporters' Academy is integrated into the world of media, education and employment, based in two great sporting cities, Manchester and Melbourne, and is officially Inspired by London 2012.