Video: Ceramica Cleopatra Sparks Cairo Cup Group Drama

Match recap

In a dramatic Cairo Cup Group A fixture, Ceramica Cleopatra defeated Farco 2-1 on Wednesday night, keeping the race to the quarterfinals tightly packed and spicy enough to heat a referee's whistle.

Amr El-Solia opened the scoring for Cleopatra in the 25th minute, while Ayman Saad, nicknamed Mocha, doubled the lead in the 82nd after coming on as a substitute nine minutes earlier.

Farco's Mohamed Fathi pulled one back in the 90+6th minute at the Cairo-based Al Mokawloon Al Arab Stadium, but Cleopatra held on for the win.

Ceramica Cleopatra, the reigning champions, collected their first three points after two losses and moved to 3 points, sitting sixth and second last in the group under coach Ali Maher.

Al Ahly slipped to seventh with 3 points, level with Cleopatra on goal difference; the group remains open with two matchdays to go. Farco leads the group with 9 points, two points ahead of the second-placed Talae El Gaish. Enppi have 6 points in third, and Al Mokawloon Al Arab occupy fourth with 4 points.

The fourth round concluded the group stage while Group B also featured Petrojet's 2-1 win over Bank Al Ahly at PetroSport Stadium in Cairo in the same round. Nigerian Rashid Ahmed scored in the 13th and 40th minutes for Petrojet, while Ahmed Madbouli netted for Bank Al Ahly in the 67th minute. Petrojet, under coach Sayed Eid, rose to 9 points, topping the standings and edging closer to the quarterfinals. Bank Al Ahly stood on 5 points in third place.

Next up: the competition's schedule continues with the fifth round on Sunday, and more dramatic twists are likely to follow.

Two punchlines: Punchline 1: If this group keeps heating up, even the stadium lights will need a cold shower. Punchline 2: In football as in comedy, timing is everything—Cleopatra timing those goals, and the fans still begging for more.