Veteran forward Walid Soliman netted his first-ever career hat-trick to fire Ahly to a crushing 4-0 victory against Gouna on Monday. Soliman, who will turn 35 in December, scored on minutes 10, 42 and 49 while Hussein El-Shahat completed the rout in the 88th minute to extend Ahly's perfect start of the season. Swiss coach Rene Weiler enjoys a flying start of his career with the Cairo giants as he matches the record of seven-game winning start by iconic coach Manuel Jose in 2004. Weiler had to rotate his team for this game due to injuries and his will to give inspirational forward Ramadan Sobhi some rest after his participation in the U23 Africa Cup of Nations over the past two weeks. Playmaker Mohamed "Afsha" Magdy was deployed in a more central role due to the injury of Hamdi Fathi while Malian midfielder Aliou Dieng is still struggling with his fitness. Nigerian forward Junior Ajayi has been playing on the left flank making room for Marwan Mohsen to play as a striker after a lengthy lay-off due to a head injury. Ahly were off to a flying start as Soliman opened the scoring in the 10th minute from a powerful long range shot. The visitors kept on their pressure keeping Gouna in their half until Soliman doubled the lead just before the break after evading his marker to score from inside the box. Soliman completed his hat-trick four minutes after the break from a close range header to put the game beyond doubt. The Red Devils produced a brilliant display of fluid attacking football in that second half and El-Shahat managed to get on the score sheet when he came at the end of a precise low cross from second-half substitute Walid Azaro to slot the fourth just before the final whistle. Ahly have moved temporarily to the top of the table with 12 points, and they still have a game in hand, and will have to wait for Zamalek game against Enppi later on Monday. (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)
