2023 Egyptian League Cup final

2023 Egyptian League Cup final
Borg El Arab Stadium hosted the match
Date22 July 2023 (2023-07-22)
VenueBorg El Arab Stadium, Alexandria
Man of the MatchSalah Mohsen (Ceramica Cleopatra)
RefereeIbrahim Nour El Din[1]
Attendance15,000[2]
WeatherFair
29 °C (84 °F)
72% humidity[3]
2022
2024

The 2023 Egyptian League Cup final was the final match of the 2022–23 Egyptian League Cup, the second edition of the competition since its establishment in 2021. It was played between Al Masry and Ceramica Cleopatra on 22 July 2023 at Borg El Arab Stadium in Alexandria.

Al Masry were looking to win their first major title in 25 years, with their last honour being the 1998 Egypt Cup. Ceramica Cleopatra on the other side participated in a major competition final for the first time in the club's history. Ceramica Cleopatra won the match 4–1 and secured their first-ever League Cup and major title.[4]

A total of 10,000 tickets were available to the public, and each club was given additional tickets estimated to be around 3,000 tickets.[2]

Route to the final

[edit]

Al Masry

[edit]
Round Opposition Score
R16 Al Ahly w/o
QF Ismaily 2–0
SF Future 0–0 (3–1 p.)

Al Masry entered the competition from the round of 16, and were drawn against Al Ahly. Both clubs share a rivalry since the Port Said Stadium riot occurred in 2012, a disaster that resulted in the death of 74 attendees; 72 of which were Al Ahly fans.[5] The match was scheduled to be played on 27 March 2023, but Al Ahly withdrew the match due to fixture congestion, after their request for postponement was rejected, as the club had a heavy and tight schedule during that period.[6] In the quarter-finals, it was a Canal derby as Al Masry played against Ismaily on 29 April 2023. Al Masry won the match 2–0 with goals from Ragab Omran and Abdo Yehia.[7] In the semi-finals, Al Masry played against the defending champions Future on 24 June 2023. The match ended goalless, and Al Masry won 3–1 on penalties.[8]

Ceramica Cleopatra

[edit]
Round Opposition Score
R16 Smouha 1–1 (5–3 p.)
QF National Bank of Egypt 2–2 (4–3 p.)
SF Al Ittihad 0–0 (4–3 p.)

Ceramica Cleopatra also entered the competition from the round of 16, and were drawn against Smouha. The match was played on 21 March 2023, and Ceramica won the tie 5–3 on penalties, after the original scoreline ended 1–1, with their only goal coming from club captain Mohamed Ibrahim.[9] In the quarter-finals, Ceramica played against National Bank of Egypt on 30 April 2023. The match was decided by a penalty shoot-out that ended 4–3 in favor of Ceramica, after the match ended as a 2–2 draw, with Ibrahim and Salah Mohsen scoring the club's two goals.[10] In the semi-finals, Ceramica played against Al Ittihad on 26 June 2023. The match ended goalless, and, for the third consecutive time for Ceramica, was decided on penalties, which resulted in Ceramica winning the shoot-outs 4–3.[11]

Venue

[edit]

Unlike the previous final, which was played at the Cairo International Stadium in Cairo, the match was played at Borg El Arab Stadium in Alexandria, Egypt. It is one of the home venues for the Egypt national team, and occasionally hosts selected matches for different clubs in Egypt.

The last domestic final hosted at the stadium was the 2021 Egyptian Super Cup match on 21 September 2021 between Al Ahly and Tala'ea El Gaish, which was won by the latter 3–2 on penalties.[12]

Officials

[edit]

The match officials were announced on 21 July 2023, one day before the final. Ibrahim Nour El Din was chosen as the head referee for the match, with Samir Gamal and Youssef El Bosaty as the assistant referees, and Mohamed El Sabahy as the fourth official. Mohamed El Hanafy was named the video assistant referee, and was assisted by Hany Abdel Fattah.[1]

Match

[edit]

Details

[edit]
Al Masry1–4Ceramica Cleopatra
  • Greisha 54'
Report
Al Masry
Ceramica Cleopatra
GK 1 Egypt Essam Tharwat
RB 7 Egypt Karim El Eraki
CB 8 Egypt Amr Moussa (c)
CB 30 Egypt Islam Abou Salima downward-facing red arrow 18'
LB 13 Egypt Amr El Saadawy downward-facing red arrow 46'
CM 20 Nigeria Emeka Christian Eze
CM 44 Egypt Zeyad Kamal downward-facing red arrow 46'
RW 18 Algeria Abderrahim Deghmoum Yellow card 8' downward-facing red arrow 40'
AM 14 Tunisia Elyes Jelassi
LW 21 Egypt Mohamed Grendo
CF 19 Egypt Marwan Hamdy
Substitutes:
GK 27 Egypt Mahmoud Gad
DF 3 Algeria Imadeddine Boubekeur upward-facing green arrow 18'
DF 17 Egypt Hussein El Sayed upward-facing green arrow 46'
DF 25 Egypt Ahmed Emad
MF 10 Egypt Hassan Ali
MF 15 Egypt Islam Attia upward-facing green arrow 46'
MF 26 Egypt Hossam Greisha upward-facing green arrow 40'
FW 9 Egypt Ragab Omran
FW 37 Cameroon Franck Etouga
Manager:
Egypt Mimi Abdel Razek
GK 1 Egypt Mohamed Bassam
RB 2 Egypt Ahmed Hany downward-facing red arrow 73'
CB 5 Egypt Ragab Nabil
CB 17 Egypt Ahmed Ramadan Yellow card 22'
LB 3 Egypt Mohamed Shokry
CM 14 Egypt Mohamed Tony
CM 21 Egypt Mohamed Adel downward-facing red arrow 58'
RW 27 Egypt Mido Gaber
AM 20 Egypt Mohamed Ibrahim (c)
LW 10 Egypt Mohamed Antar Yellow card 68' downward-facing red arrow 68'
CF 7 Egypt Salah Mohsen
Substitutes:
GK 50 Egypt Ali El Gabry
DF 22 Egypt Abdel Rahman Ramadan upward-facing green arrow 73'
DF 28 Tunisia Seif Teka
MF 8 Egypt Mahmoud Nabil upward-facing green arrow 58'
MF 15 Egypt Mahmoud Zalaka
MF 26 Ghana Justice Arthur
FW 15 Egypt Ahmed El Armouty
FW 39 Nigeria Ibrahim Ayoola
FW 40 Nigeria Samuel Amadi upward-facing green arrow 68'
Manager:
Egypt Ayman El Ramadi

Man of the Match:
Salah Mohsen (Ceramica Cleopatra)

Assistant referees:[1]
Samir Gamal
Youssef El Bosaty
Fourth official:[1]
Mohamed El Sabahy
Video assistant referee:[1]
Mohamed El Hanafy
Assistant video assistant referee:[1]
Hany Abdel Fattah

Match rules

Statistics

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Each team was given only three opportunities to make substitutions, excluding substitutions made at half-time.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f "إبراهيم نور الدين حكما لنهائي كأس الرابطة" [Ibrahim Nour El Din announced as referee for league cup final]. FilGoal (in Arabic). 21 July 2023. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  2. ^ a b "10 آلاف مشجع لمباراة سيراميكا كليوباترا والمصري في نهائي كأس الرابطة" [10,000 fans to attend Ceramica Cleopatra and Al Masry match in the League Cup final]. Sada El Balad (in Arabic). 20 July 2023. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  3. ^ "Weather History for Alexandria Borg El Arab, Egypt". Weather Underground. The Weather Company. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  4. ^ "Ceramica Cleopatra outclass Masry 4-1 to claim Egyptian League Cup title". Al Ahram Online. 22 July 2023. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  5. ^ "Egypt football violence leaves many dead in Port Said". BBC News. 1 February 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  6. ^ "OFFICIAL: Al Ahly withdraw from 2023 Egyptian League Cup". KingFut. 22 March 2023. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  7. ^ "المصري يفوز على الإسماعيلي ويتأهل لنصف نهائي كأس الرابطة المصرية" [Al Masry defeats Ismaily and qualifies to the Egyptian League Cup semi-finals]. Al Masry Al Youm (in Arabic). 29 April 2023. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  8. ^ "المصري يتأهل إلى نهائي كأس الرابطة على حساب فيوتشر" [Al Masry qualifies to the League Cup final at the expense of Future]. Veto Gate (in Arabic). 24 June 2023. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  9. ^ "طريق الزمالك.. سيراميكا كليوباترا يقصي سموحة من كأس الرابطة" [Zamalek Road.. Ceramica Cleopatra eliminates Smouha from the League Cup]. Yalla Kora (in Arabic). 21 March 2023. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  10. ^ "سيراميكا يفوز على البنك الأهلي ويضرب موعدًا مع الاتحاد السكندري في نصف نهائي كأس الرابطة" [Ceramica defeats National Bank and sets a date with Al Ittihad Alexandria in the League Cup semi-finals]. Al Masry Al Youm (in Arabic). 30 April 2023. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  11. ^ "سيراميكا يفوز على الاتحاد ويتأهل لمواجهة المصرى فى نهائى كأس الرابطة" [Ceramica defeats Al Ittihad and qualifies to face Al Masry in the League Cup final]. Youm7 (in Arabic). 26 June 2023. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  12. ^ "Unfancied El Geish stun Ahly on penalties to win Egyptian Super Cup". Al Ahram Online. 21 September 2021. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  13. ^ a b c "مباراة المصري وسيراميكا كليوباترا - نهائي كاس الرابطة المصرية 2023" [Live stream: Al Masry v Ceramica Cleopatra - 2023 Egyptian League Cup final]. Presentation Sports on YouTube. Retrieved 3 August 2023.