Head coach Hossam Al-Badri expects a bright future for Ahli following their impressive 4-2 victory over Gaish in the Egyptian Premier League on Friday.
The 49-year-old boss, who replaced Manuel Jose at Ahli’s helm, came in for fierce criticism prior to the league’s start following some disappointing displays and results in pre-season friendlies.
He was largely blamed for implementing a 4-4-2 formation, which is unfamiliar to Egyptian football.
But the Red Devils proved doubters wrong after making a fine start to their campaign, bagging 10 points from four games.
They were particularly impressive in their win over Gaish at Military Academy Stadium.
“We’ve notably improved; all the players produced a superb performance tonight. The absence of some key players (Mohamed Abou-Treika and Mohamed Barakat) did not affect us,” Al-Badri told Egyptian radio.
“We had a solid defense and a ruthless attack that helped us create plenty of goal-scoring opportunities. A great future lies ahead of those players.”
Concentration Problem
Hani Al-Egeizi gave Ahli a first-half lead in a thrilling encounter. Three second-half goals from Francis Doe, Sherif Abdul-Fadil and Moataz Eno ensured Ahli would claim all three points.
However, they allowed Gaish striker Salah Amin to score two quickfire goals late in the match to narrow the gap.
“We have a concentration problem. Such things should not happen,” Al-Badri added.
“The players have to keep their concentration for the full 90 minutes, similar mistakes could cost us a victory.”
