Egypt rightly earns first win of tournament

16 April 2015 02:24

The 5-2 victory for Egypt over Seychelles included goals from distance, direct kicks, bicycles, and all the drama and action that is customary in beach soccer. The Egyptians scored first, taking a 2-0 lead before seeing the hosts fight back, getting to within one goal, on two separate occasions , but in the end the Pharaohs were too much, pulling away late in the second period. The win is the first of the week for Egypt, though they could very possibly have won all three group stage matches, and they finished third in Group A. The Egyptians will be playing again on Friday in the consolation semi-finals. Seychelles fought admirably in their first CAF African Beach Soccer Championship and will still have two more matches to impress fans, beginning with their Friday clash in the other consolation semi-final match.

Egypt had missed their chance at the semi-finals but only narrowly, as they had their chances and were very close in each match, so they took it on themselves to try and build a big lead early in the match. The plan worked to perfection as the Egyptians scored twice in the opening minutes to give them a 2-0 advantage. More than halfway through the period, the rockets were flying but the goaltenders were up to the task and the score remained the same going into the last minutes of the first period. Seychelles got a kick-start from Cadeau when he blasted a shot off of a turnover to cut the deficit in half, to two goals to one, which is how the match would stay going into the middle frame. The Pharaohs maintained their strong play and restored their two goal lead on another early strike, putting the score at 3-1. Golden opportunities went missing, like dangerous direct kicks and penalty shots, but at the same time, there were many solid connections that did hit the back of the onion bag putting the score at 5-2 for Egypt when the second period ended.

Seychelles and Egypt had both tasted goals and they wanted more but the sound defenses were not budging and the score remained the same through the heart of period. Seychelles needed multiple goals and they were more than attacking the Egyptian defense, but Egypt has made a name for themselves in this tournament with stout brick wall defense, and they kept the hosts from getting any closer. Egypt used great ball control, with technical and precise passing to run out the clock. When the final whistle sounded, the hard-charging Egyptians had earned the 5-2 win.

Goals: 0-1: Mohamed G., min. 10 (1); 0-2: Mohamed F., min. 9 (1); 1-2: Cadeau, min. 1 (1); 1-3: Mohamed G., min. 9 (2); 2-3: Mathiot, min. 3 (2); 2-4: Aly, min. 1 (2); 2-5: Aly, min. 1 (2).

CAF AFRICAN BEACH SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP SEYCHELLES 2015

Results Today:

Thursday 16.04.15

15:00 – Seychelles 2-5 Egypt (Group A)

16:15 – Nigeria vs. Cote d’Ivoire (Group A)

17:30 – Senegal vs. Ghana (Group B)

18:45 – Morocco vs. Madagascar (Group B

Confederation of African Football (CAF) News