Ojera double lights up Alexandria as Arab Contractors sink El Ismaily

Ugandan forward Joackim Ojera delivered a night to remember in Alexandria, firing Arab Contractors to a vital 2-1 victory over El Ismaily in the Egyptian Premier League (Nile League) clash staged at Borg El Arab Stadium on Thursday.

The contest began in a tense and tactical fashion, with both sides cancelling each other out before the break. But the deadlock was finally broken ten minutes into the second half when Ojera showed great composure inside the box to put the visitors in front.

El Ismaily briefly found a lifeline seven minutes later, as Abdelrahman El Dah struck to bring the home side level and reignite the contest. The parity, however, did not last long. Ojera once again rose to the occasion in the 68th minute, calmly finishing to complete his brace and restore Arab Contractors’ lead for good.

Any hopes of a late Ismaily comeback were effectively extinguished ten minutes from time when Ibrahim Al Kadi was shown a red card, forcing the hosts to see out the remainder of the match with a man down.

The two goals were Ojera’s first in the league this season, but they underlined his growing influence in recent weeks. The striker has now found the net five times in his last five outings in all competitions, having also grabbed a brace against Enppi in the League Cup and scored against Al Ahly in the same tournament late last year.

Ojera was on the pitch for the entire match, just like his Ugandan teammate Joseph Ochaya, who also put in a solid shift in the hard-fought win.

The result leaves Arab Contractors placed 15th on the 21-team table with 15 points from 15 matches, and they will hope to carry this momentum into their next fixture when they welcome National Bank Egypt on January 30.

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