Al Ahly vs Asyut Petroleum

Mohamed Abou-Treika’s late goal led Ahli to a 1-0 home victory over a resilient Asyut Petroleum side to help them restore their three-point advantage at the top of the Egyptian Premier League.

The Egyptian international rounded off a neatly-worked counter attack 13 minutes from time to hand the Cairo giants their fourth victory in six games.

The defending champions, who aim to win a sixth successive title, enter the league break with 14 points, three ahead of Ismaili and Petrojet.

Full-back Sayed Moawad was Ahli’s liveliest performer in the first half, setting up plenty of attacks.

He repeatedly raced down the left flank and whipped in some inch-perfect crosses but none of Ahli forwards made the most of them.

The Red Devils went close with three headers from Abou-Treika, defender Wael Gomaa and lone striker Hani Al-Egeizi but Asyut keeper Yasser Kadri was alert enough to thwart their efforts.

In the absence of suspended striker Francis Doe, Al-Egeizi failed to impress and was guilty of missing a great opportunity six minutes before the break.

He raced onto a superb long ball and broke clear of the defense but his attempted chip went wide of the post.

Classy Treika

Al-Egeizi was substituted in the second half to make way for Mohamed Fadl, who made his first start after joining Ahli on a free transfer in the close season.

The former Ismaili man, who has just recovered from a niggling injury, immediately made his presence felt when he fired a powerful volley that was blocked by Kadri.

He then wasted a clear-cut opportunity to end the resistance of Asyut, whose packed defense made it difficult for Ahli to break the deadlock.

On 70 minutes, Fadl was released by a deft pass from Ahmed Hassan but his shot was straight into the body of Kadri.

Despite being relatively quiet for the majority of the game, the classy Abou-Treika came to Ahli’s rescue with 13 minutes remaining.

Asyut, who failed to trouble Ahli keeper Ahmed Abdul-Monem, were made to pay for their sole courageous attempt to stun the hosts.

Their breakaway was intercepted by Ahli defenders, who launched a counter attack to feed Moataz Eno in the centre of midfield.

The former Zamalek man’s through pass broke the offside trap and found Abou-Treika to skillfully round Kadri and slot into an empty net.