Ahly close gap on Zamalek

5 May 2011

Al Ahly moved into second place in the Egyptian Premier League on Tuesday, but it was a poor showing as they edged past the 10-men of Gouna by a slender 1-0 margin.

The Red Devils are now four points behind leaders Zamalek, with 11 matches remaining in a season that is set to run all the way to mid-July because of the earlier disruptions to the campaign due to the political unrest in the country.

It is a punishing schedule for the teams and one that is sure to test the fitness of their players.

Osama Hosni scored the only goal of the game for Ahly on six minutes, with Gouna’s Mohamed Al-Zayat received his second yellow card late in the game.

Bottom side Ittihad secured their first home win of the season with a 3-1 success over Masri thanks to goals from Mohamed Al-Morsi (two) and Youssef Abdul-Rahim.

Also on Tuesday, ENPPI’s faint title hopes were suffered a mortal blow when they were held 1-1 at home by third-bottom Smouha, a great result for the struggling side.

Meanwhile on Monday, Zamalek showed little ambition as they drew 0-0 at third-placed Ismaily, seemingly happy to settle for a point in the game from the off.

Police Union maintained their surprisingly good form as they won 3-2 at Military Production to stay in fourth place in the table … heady heights for them.

Petrojet were stunned 3-1 at home by struggling Arab Contractors in one of the big surprises of the round, Wadi Degla moved out of the relegation zone with a 2-0 home success over Gaish.

Finally, MCDR moved up to seventh with a 1-0 away win at Harras Hodoud.