Evouna brace gives Ahly vital win en route to Egyptian league title

An excellent double from striker Evouna helped Ahly beat a resilient Dakhleya 2-0 and edge closer towards a record 38th league title

Ahly edged closer toward the Egyptian league title when two superb goals from striker Malick Evouna gave them a vital 2-0 victory over a resilient Dakhleya side at Alexandria's Borg El-Arab Stadium on Thursday.
After failing to break down a dogged Dakhleya defense throughout the opening period, two second-half strikes from Gabon striker Evouna within six minutes ensured Ahly needed only two wins from their remaining four league games to win a record 38th-title.
The final five minutes of the game saw Dakhleya defender Assem Genidi sent off following two bookable offences.
Ahly remain top of the league table on 71 points, eight ahead of second-placed and reigning champions Zamalek, while Dakhleya lie ninth on 44.
Dakhleya play deep
Just five minutes into the opening half, Dakhleya managed to threaten through forward Amr Marei who merited on some poor defending from center-back Rami Rabia to see his ensuing strike narrowly miss the target.
Abdallah El-Said, who seemed tightly marked by Dakhleya's holding midfielder Emmanuel Karbogi, replied minutes later with a low shot from outside the area, but keeper Ahmed Fawzi was there to block his effort.
Keeper Fawzi was then recalled into action once again a minute later, this time denying Sabri Rahil from inside the area, as Ahly repeatedly looked to capitalize on their opponents' weak right flank.
With Ahly struggling to break down an organized Dakhleya side, who were happy to sit back, the hosts thought the solution could come from Hossam Ghaly, whose diagonal cross into the box was headed narrowly wide by Moemen Zakareya.
Zakareya then saw a curling effort from outside the area miss the target by inches just two minutes from half-time, before Dakhleya's Assem Said had an excellent volley kept away by keeper Sherif Ekramy seconds before the half-time whistle.
Evouna double
The introduction of Ramadan Sobhi instead of the injured El-Said provided more energy for Ahly, who still looked to attack down the left, but still struggled to breakdown the visitors' resilient defense.
As they looked to hit on the counter, Dakhleya's Said saw a strike go wide from outside the area when only facing two defenders ten minutes into the second half.
But it was the 63rd minute when Evouna finally put his side in front with a wonderful flick with the outside of his boot from inside the area following Zakareya's pass from the left to open the scoring.
The Gabon hitman then added Ahly's second in another similarly stunning fashion minutes later, when he managed to overcome the opponents' pressure before unleashing a low strike from outside the box that found the bottom corner of the net.
Ahly continued dominating play, with Zakareya seeing two goals ruled out by the referee for offside.
The final minutes witnessed Dakhleya defender Genidi receive his marching orders for two bookable offenses, as Ahly secured a vital win en route to their favored league title.
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