Ahly eased into the Egypt Cup round of 16 when a brace from forgotten playmaker Ahmed El-Sheikh gave them a 3-0 victory over second-division side Dairut on Wednesday. Defensive midfielder Ahmed Fathi scored a rare goal with a 30-metre powerful low shot to open the scoring after 11 minutes. Ahly, Egypt and Africa's most successful side, created little until El-Sheikh, who has played a few matches since his summer arrival, doubled their lead on 61 minutes with an easy tap-in into an empty net after the keeper failed to handle a cross, notching his maiden goal with the club. El-Sheikh made it 3-0 three minutes later when he cut inside his challenger and placed a low shot into the bottom corner from inside the area. The Red Devils had to without their Egyptian internationals, who were part of the Pharaohs' squad for Tuesday's 1-0 victory over Nigeria which put them on the brink of reaching next year's African Cup of Nations in Gabon. Ramadan Sobhi, one of Ahly's rising teenagers, netted the pivotal goal which gave Egypt a precious win before more than 50,000 fans at Alexandria's Borg El-Arab Stadium. Ahly are the record winners of the Egypt Cup with 35 titles but have not won the trophy since 2007. Zamalek, Ahly's bitter Cairo rivals, won the past three editions and face another second-tier side in Shabab El-Dabaa on Thursday. (For more sportsnews andupdates, followAhramOnlineSportson Twitter at@AO_Sportsand onFacebookatAhramOnlineSports.) http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/198336.aspx
