Ahly needed a late goal from Amr El-Sulaya to break the resistance of Haras El-Hodoud and make their best start to an Egyptian Premier League season since 2005. The central midfielder's long-range drive with nine minutes remaining took a wicked deflection to wrong-foot the keeper and give Ahly a precious 1-0 victory. They were made to sweat for the win but they will still be relieved to make it six victories out of six, a run which they have not achieved since the beginning of the 2005/2006 season when they also won their first six games. Ahly, who are eyeing a fifth consecutive league crown, top the table with maximum 18 points, two ahead of Arab Contractors, who played a game more. El-Hodoud dropped to eighth on 10 points. Despite their territorial dominance, Ahly found it hard to break down the massed ranks of El-Hodoud, who kept plenty of men behind the ball. However, the Red Devils still had a golden chance to open the scoring in the first half when a superb back-heel pass from El-Sulaya released Nigerian forward Junior Ajayi, whose effort struck the bar. El-Hodoud maintained their resolute display in the second half and could have stunned their illustrious opponents when Nigerian Anthony Lokosa forced a fine save from Ahly keeper Mohamed El-Shennawi following a rare counter attack. However, a deflected shot from Magdi Afsha struck the woodwork and Ajayi blasted over the bar when well-positioned to score at the other end as Ahly upped their pressure. The breakthrough finally came when El-Sulaya's hopeful shot was helped into the net by a flying tackle from an El-Hodoud defender. (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)
