Egyptian club El Zamalek did all it could against the Southern Stars to stand its chance of making through to the bronze final.

 

El Zamalek (EGY) Southern Stars (AUS) 41:23 (22:11)

 

This victory made Zamalek add another 2 points to its name to be on a par with Al-Sadd from Qatar before the last match of Group B. Should Al-Sadd lose against Ciudad Real, the goal difference will have to decide on the ranking of two and three and the qualification for the bronze-medal match. If Al-Sadd wins one point, it will advance to the bronze final. If it wins to take two points, it will go for gold. Zamalek improved its goal difference from -8 to +10 thanks to this well-expected clear victory.

The Southern Stars had a perfect start, showing their best performance at the Super Globe in during the first 15 minutes. To everybody’s surprise, the Australians that were cheered up by the Qatari supporters, kept the match open and even went into a 6:5 lead after 12 minutes. But with the score at 7:7 Zamalek woke up and started dominating the game with a 15:4 series to a 22:11 half-time score. And the Egyptians needed a clear victory to remain a competitor for second rank in the group. The Egyptian fans were making a lot of noise at the Gharaffa arena to push their players. After all they had to catch up 20 goals compared with Al-Sadd from Qatar.

Contrary to what you would have expected, the Southern Stars did not give up after changing ends. They fought bravely like in their previous matches. It was evident that they could not catch up but they had morals and showed spirit. However, from minute 40 on, the Australians lacked power, and Zamalek tried to score easy goals configuring offensively in defense. This strategy destroyed the Southern Stars’ play. When they shot at the goal, keeper Mohamed Ibrahim mostly saved their shots.

And from minute 44 on, Zamalek came close to its objective – a margin of 20 goals, but they did not manage more than 16 or 18. When the margin finally reached 19 goals, Zamalek missed three great opportunities. Now the Egyptians have to wait for the result of the Al-Sadd – Ciudad Real match.

Quotes after the match:

Tarek Lofti, coach of Zamalek: We lost the first match, as our players were tired, but we have meanwhile improved, as the players had time to recover. Now our play is satisfactory.

Taip Ramadani, coach of Southern Stars: I am satisfied with the 15 minutes only, but the final result is not good for us.

Tim Jackson, player of Southern Stars: The match was a good lesson profiting from experience. We started well but then Zamalek’s greater experience decided the game.

 

 

Photos by Adel Aldelimay