Ahly, buoyant following their 2-0 Cairo derby win over arch rivals Zamalek last Tuesday, spurned a slew of clear-cut chances in a 0-0 Egyptian Premier League draw at Talae El-Geish on Saturday that ended their winning run under caretaker coach Abdel-Aziz Abdel-Shafi 'Zizo'. El-Geish keeper Emad El-Sayed pulled off a string of impressive saves to deprive Ahly of a fifth consecutive win under Zizo, who reports suggested would be kept at the helm until the end of the season after he took over following the sudden departure of Portuguese Jose Peseiro. Gabonese striker Malick Evouna, who played as a lone striker, failed to produce the form that saw him score a stunning goal against Zamalek and was replaced in the second half on a disappointing night for Ahly. The record 37-time Egyptian champions, whose eight-season hegemony was ended by Zamalek last season, are still on top of the table with 39 points. Zamalek will trim the gap to five points if they beat Wadi Degla on Sunday. El-Sayed first tipped over a powerful shot from Moemen Zakareya from inside the area on eight minutes before making good use of his fingertips again to push a free header from midfielder Hossam Ghaly onto the post in the 19th minute. Another header from unmarked defender Rami Rabia went over the bar as Ahly intensified their pressure, launching a wave after wave of attacks. However, El-Geish could have stunned Ahly on the break on 25 minutes when Burkinabe striker Herve Oussale escaped the attention of Rabia to run onto a through ball and send a low shot from a tight angle that was blocked by towering keeper Sherif Ekramy. Abdallah El-Said, the architect of most of Ahly's attempts, also had a superb curling shot thwarted by El-Sayed nine minutes before the break. Ahly remained in control in the second half but they were unable to continue carving out openings at will. Their players looked jaded towards the latter stages and El-Geish grew in confidence as the match wore on. The Red Devils still wasted two goal-scoring chances to settle the tie in their favour. Central defender Ahmed Hegazy headed straight into El-Sayed's hands with the goal at his mercy after he was found by a free kick from El-Said before a Ghaly header missed an open net following a mis-timed jump from the keeper. (For more sports news andupdates, followAhramOnlineSportson Twitter at@AO_Sportsand onFacebookatAhramOnlineSports.) http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/187493.aspx
