The performance of Ahly coach Juan Garrido remains under the spotlight after the team’s Monday loss to Arab Contractors in the Egyptian Premier League.
Garrido, who steered Ahly to the Egyptian Super Cup and African Confederation Cup titles in his first season in charge, needed a win to close the gap with arch-rivals Zamalek and to secure his future with the Cairo giants.
The Spanish coach was heavily criticised following some below-par displays in the domestic league, but club management recently assured that he is remaining in his post.
A victory was also essential to boost Ahly’s morale ahead of the must-win clash against Moghreb Tétouan in the second leg of the CAF Champions League round of 16. The Egyptian team slumped to a 1-0 first-leg loss in Morocco.
Watch the goal here:
Veteran coach Hassan Shehata’s focus on intensifying defense and making the best use of counter-attacks was a main reason behind the Contractors team’s success in keeping a clean sheet.
Arab Contractors had their first try at reaching the Reds’ goal in the 21st minute, but did not pose a real threat.
Contractors’ goal scorer Ernest Papa Arko took a second precious chance, but in vain.
Ahly was dealt a blow 10 minutes before the break after losing left-back Hussein El-Sayed due to injury.
