A second half brace form Mohamed Sherif inspired the Pharaohs to a 2-0 victory over Liberia at Borg El Arab Stadium on Thursday night.
Egypt got off to a good start and dominated possession in the early stages of the game, while Liberia sat back and soaked up the pressure.
Mostafa Fathi should’ve handed Egypt the lead in the 19th minute but the attacker fired his curling effort narrowly wide of the target from just outside the box.
The Lone Stars nearly broke the deadlock on the half-hour mark when Terry Sackor was played through on goal before firing his effort towards goal but Mohamed Al-Shenawy was on hand to make the save.
Tareh Hamed wasted a golden opportunity to find the back of the net when he rose highest to latch on to Ayman Ashraf corner but the Paharaoh’s defender header sailed wide of the target.
Egypt came to life again shortly thereafter and threatened a second from a delivery across the face of goal after a nice passing move, but Ahmed ‘Zizo’ Sayed missed target.
Uncertainty in Lone Star’s defence later on led to Mohamed Sherif’s tapping Baher Elmohamady’s header, which came off the woodwork after a cross from El-Wensh.
Liberia went for a substitution midway inside the second half and had Terry Sackor for LISR’s striker Joseph Melto Quiah.
The Egyptians added their second on the 66th minute with Sherif capitalizing on another rebound in the area and brought it home from close range.
Liberia keeper Morlik Keita was called into action early on the 78th minute when he was forced off his line to cut out a long ball from the Pharaohs.
More positive spells followed Liberia in the closing stages, as Edward Ledlum dragged a cutback from Alvin Maccornel narrowly past the bottom-corner.
The North Africans managed the rest of the encounter successfully well to start coach Carlos Queiroz’s tenure on a winning note.
How they lined up:
Egypt: Mohamed Al-Shennawi (Mohamed Abou Gabal 67) – Akram Tawfik (Ahmed Tawfik 77), Mahmoud ‘El-Wensh’ Hamdi (Ali Gabr 77), Ayman Ashraf (Hamdi Fathi 77), Mohamed Hamdi (Baher El Mohammady 52) – Tarek Hamed (Mohanad Lashine 77), Amr El-Sulaya, Abdallah El-Said (Mohamed “Afsha” Magdi 67), Ahmed ‘Zizo’ Sayed (Ahmed Samir 67), Mostafa Fathi (Ramadan Sobhi 46) – Mohamed Sherif (Ibrahim Adel 67).
Liberia: 23-Alpha Eshaka Jalloh (1-Morlik Keita 73) – 11-Ben David Benaiah, 24-Sampson Kargeoh Dweh (5-Joseph Melto 73), 14-Carlos Williams – 4-Alvin Maccornel, 21-Kelvin Barclay, 12-Fred Brooks (17-Julius Quellie), 22-Edward Ledlum, 20-Frederick Dennis – 7-Sam Jackson (19-Devine Roosevelt Teah 73), 9-Terry Sackor (5-Joseph Melto Quiah 63).
