Egypt’s Pyramids FC are desperate for a trophy and will continue their quest in the 2022-23 CAF Confederation Cup when the club from New Cairo host the surprise team of the competition, South Africa’s Marumo Gallants, in the first leg of their quarterfinal clash on Sunday. Pyramids are currently in third place in the ongoing Egyptian Premier League campaign and snuck into the Confederation Cup quarterfinals with a victory over fellow Egyptian club Future FC on the final day of the group stage to finish second place in Group C. Marumo Gallants won Group A and have nothing to lose with ambitions to continue their surprising continental run by taking down one of Africa’s richest clubs.
Pyramids enter the first leg on the back of two consecutive victories in domestic play against El Dakhleya and Aswan SC but will enjoy the distraction of CAF club competition after the club expressed frustration at the standard of officiating in Egyptian football. Current head coach and former Zamalek manager Jaime Pacheco arrived following a decisive defeat to Al Ahly at the beginning of February and guided his new club to this stage where the expectations are high for Pyramids who qualified for the knockout stages of the last three editions of the Confederation Cup but do not have a trophy to show for it.
Pacheco will have an important source of goals back in his team after Tunisian forward Fakhreddine Ben Youssef was declared fit for Sunday’s match. Ben Youssef leads the team with six goals in the Confederation Cup and joins up with a talented attack that also features Egypt national team and former Stoke City playmaker Ramadan Sobhi as well as experienced former Egypt national team creative force Abdallah Said and former Zamalek attacker Mostafa Fathi. The Pyramids defense is led by goalkeeper Ahmed El Shenawy, t0wering central defender Ali Gabr and Burkina Faso national team midfielder Ibrahim Blati Touré. Moroccan midfielder Walid El Karti is another important player to watch for Pyramids as well.
Marumo Gallants have defied the odds to reach this stage and the club from Limpopo province have experienced some negative effects from their continental run. Gallants are engaged in a relegation battle to remain in South Africa’s top tier DStv Premiership and poor financial planning resulted in an odd situation where two club employees had to stay behind in Libya due to the club’s delay in paying travel and accommodation fees following a group stage match against Al Akhdar. Despite the circumstances, Gallants earned their spot in the quarterfinals and midfielder Lucky Mohomi stated before the match that he and his teammates “really believe we are capable of beating any team in this tournament.”
Gallants are righting the ship in domestic play and a major reason is forward Ranga Chivaviro. The 30-year-old veteran journeyman is enjoying the most productive campaign of his career with fourteen goals in all competitions this season including five in the Confederation Cup. Mohomi is the more defensive player in a strong central midfield that also features Celimpilo Ngema who can contribute both in attack and on the defensive end. Zimbabwe national team goalkeeper Washington Arubi is the veteran leader of a Gallants defense and his experience and shot stopping will be crucial to the club’s ambitions of advancement to the semifinals.
Read more about both teams in the links below.
