Substitute Soulaymane Coulibaly bagged a brace on his Egyptian league debut to help defending champions Ahly rout Dakhleya 4-0 at El-Salam Stadium on Saturday. A goalless first-half was followed by four goals after the break, with center-back Saad Samir, winger Walid Soliman and Coulibaly getting their names on the scoresheet. The victory cemented the Reds' position on top of the Egyptian league table on 55 points, seven ahead of second-placed Maqassa as the league leaders remain unbeaten. They look firm favourites to win a second straight title and their ninth in 10 seasons. Coulibaly looked to have silenced doubters with two headed goals and a lively display after coming off the bench, a week after coach Hossam El-Badri had criticised him, implying that he made a mistake by signing the 22-year-old after only watching a video footage of him. Coulibaly steals the show The opening stages witnessed immense pressure from the defending champions, with Ahmed Hamoudi coming close three times in the space of just 10 minutes. A well-crafted team-move from Ahly featuring Ahmed Fathi and Abdallah El-Said saw the Dakhleya keeper eventually deny striker Amr Gamal from point-blank range in what seemed to be a certain goal. The game remained on a low tempo, with Ahly mainly dominating possession and Dakhleya retreating in an attempt to close down spaces. The goal then arrived on the hour mark through center-back Samir whose strike from outside the area beat the keeper at the far post, with the Dakhleya shot-stopper responsible for the goal conceded. After substitute Couliably had seen two attempts miss the target and a header hit the woodwork, Soliman doubled Ahly's advantage with a powerful free kick from range into the top corner of the net in the 70th minute. But the Ivorian made amends just nine minutes later, when a header from left-back Sabri Rahil's cross was guided into the net for Ahly's third of the night. Coulibaly, however, refused to leave without completing his personal double of the night when another stoppage-time header sealed a 4-0 victory for Ahly as they edge closer towards the league title. (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)
