Ahly, under pressure for some recent disappointing results, can ill-afford to drop more points when they take on El-Geish in the Egyptian Premier League on Saturday, five days before facing Zamalek in a crucial Cairo derby. Two successive 1-1 draws against Masry and Petrojet cast doubts over Ahly's ability to equal their own record of winning nine league titles in a row, especially given the form of arch-rivals and leaders Zamalek. Ahly are 11 points behind Zamalek, who played two games more, and will be looking to bag all three points against El-Geish to narrow that gap going to Thursday's derby. They are likely to face a stiff test, with fifth-placed Geish enjoying a fine run under coach Talaat Youssef, who is known for his acumen in drawing up defensive strategies. Ahly looked vulnerable at the back in Tuesday's draw against Petrojet, with under-fire coach Juan Garrido once again blaming refereeing decisions for his latest stumble, criticizing a decision to award his opponents a penalty which Shimelis Bekele took advantage of to secure a share of spoils on the second attempt after his spot-kick was blocked. "We lost many points because of refereeing decisions. Referees cost us wins against Ismaily, Assiouty Sport, Masry and against Petrojet," the Spanish boss, who led Ahly to the Egyptian Super Cup and African Confederation Cup titles after taking over in the summer, told the post-match news conference. "The penalty awarded to Petrojet is non-existent. I'm fed up of talking about referees all the time. It seems we will lose further points because of matters that are out of our hands." Garrido will not be on the touchline when Ahly face El-Geish after he was handed a one-match ban for his comments about the referee. The Red Devils will also have to do without regular and promising left-back Hussein El-Sayed, who was banned for four matches after hitting an opponent in an off-ball incident against Petrojet, and goalkeeper Sherif Ekramy whose toddler will undergo heart surgery in England. (For more sports news andupdates, followAhramOnlineSports on Twitter at@AO_Sportsand onFacebookatAhramOnlineSports.) http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/121139.aspx
