An unimpressive Ahly side got back to winning ways after edging out Maqassa 1-0 in the Egyptian league at Cairo Stadium on Sunday. A first-half Ahmed Abdel-Zaher strike was enough to hand Ahly all three points against a team who barely looked a threat throughout the whole 90 minutes. Following Ahly's humiliating 4-1 defeat at the hands of Ittihad last week, which also followed a goalless draw with Wadi Degla, Juan Garrido's men managed to hit their stride to move to fourth spot of the table with 24 points having been in seventh place ahead of the game. The CAF Confederation Cup holders, however, still have two games in hand in their bid to defend their league title. An insipid match barely witnessed goal-scoring opportunities for any side, but the Cairo giants line up featured a new face in youngster Mohamed Hani who deputized for the injured Bassem Ali at right back. The 19-year-old looked promising, having launched several forays down the flank, where Walid Soliman was deployed ahead of him. The return of holding midfielder Hossam Ashour also gave Ahly much needed strength in the center of the park, an area where the reigning champions suffered a lot against Ittihad. Despite looking the better side in the opening stages, the hosts only posed real threat on goal after 34 minutes, with their first chance of the game resulting in the opener. Abdel-Zaher managed to break the offside trap during the build up to the goal, before an excellent headed ball from Ethiopia striker Saladdin Said into the Ex-ENPPI hitman's path saw him lash home from point-blank range. Saladdin, who scored Ahly's sole goal in the 4-1 drubbing by Ittihad, often looked dangerous – having been wrongly adjudged by the referee for being in an offside position after running in behind the defense to go through on goal. Maqassa, who have ex-Egypt internationals Hani Saied and Ahmed El-Sayed among their ranks, improved after the break, and striker Wael Farrag saw a shot from range go narrowly wide just four minutes into the second half. Farrag also had another close chance when he headed a free kick wide 13 minutes from time. Substitute Abdallah El-Saied also saw a free kick miss the target by inches, as a below-par Ahly recorded a needed win over their toothless opponents. (For more sports news andupdates, follow AhramOnlineSports on Twitter at@AO_Sportsand onFacebookatAhramOnlineSports.) http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/119039.aspx
