Ahly's five-match winning run in the Egyptian Premier League came at a halt after they failed to break down Wadi Degla in a 0-0 draw in Cairo on Saturday. The defending champions, who are chasing a ninth successive league title, were below-par, losing one of their four rescheduled league matches. Despite chalking up six wins in 10 games, losing only once, Ahly are yet to produce the kind of stellar performances that helped them totally dominate the premier domestic competition in the last decade. They lie fifth in the table with 21 points, 10 behind leaders Zamalek who played three games more. In-form Degla, who made an impressive start to the season, lie third with 25 points from 13 matches. Ahly looked largely toothless against Wadi Degla despite the presence of in-form winger Walid Soliman and promising youngster Ramadan Sobhi, who played behind lone striker Ahmed Abdel-Zaher. They could only muster tame efforts which barely troubled Degla goalkeeper Amir Abdel-Hamid, an ex-Ahly shot-stopper. Degla, who primarily tried to soak up pressure in the first half, were bolder after the break, pushing forward in a bid to stun their illustrious opponents. The closest they came to scoring was on the hour mark when striker Mohamed El-Gabbas cut inside his challenger in the area but his low shot was collected by Ahly's third-choice keeper Mosaad Awad. At the other end, veteran striker Emad Meteb, who replaced the ineffective Abdel-Zaher in the second half, shot astonishingly wide from an acute angle when picked out unmarked and defender Sherif Hazem's downward header at the far post narrowly missed the target. Ahly's Ethiopian striker Saladin Said was introduced in the latter stages to make his second appearance since joining in the summer, having been sidelined for more than three months due to a calf injury. However, his impact was minimal. Nigerian forward Stanley Ohawuchi unsettled Ahly's backline with his pace but the Red Devils could have still snatched all three points at the death when central defender Saad Samir sent a free header over the bar with the goal at his mercy. (For more sports news andupdates, follow AhramOnlineSports on Twitter [email protected]_Sportsand onFacebookatAhramOnlineSports.) http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/118455.aspx
