Coach Hossam Al-Badri and his Ahly team continued their excellent run of form in Egypt's domestic league as a last minute goal by defender Saad Samir ensured they collected maximum points from their game against an extremely tough opponent in the form of Semouha. The win was even more delightful given that fierce rivals Zamalek were at the end of a shock result against strugglers Aswan as they drew 0-0 in Aswan earlier in the day. This season's black horse Misr Al-Maqasa got back to winning ways after a two-game drought as they defeated Al-Entag Al-Harbi 2-1 away from home to ensure they stay in second place no matter what other teams do in other games, while manager Hossam Hassan guided his team Masri to another win as they came from behind to defeat Petrojet 2-1 away from home as well. In Alex, Ittihad and Enppi played an entertaining goalless draw with both teams having plenty of chances to win but failed to find the back of the net while Al-Geish and Sharqia drew 2-2 in Cairo thanks to Ahmed Eid's penalty five minutes from time to make certain his team avoided an embarrassing defeat at home. Mido's Wadi Degla suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of the Arab Contractors despite being the better side throughout the game but a last minute penalty by Mohamed Nagi, or Gedo, condemned Mido and his team to a heartbreaking loss as they continued their patchy run of form. Enppi and Ahly will play later in the week as the league leaders will hope to win more ground in the race for the league title as their fierce rivals Zamalek still have four games in hand because of African Champions League commitments. However, even if Zamalek collected maximum points from the postponed games they would still be four points short of Ahly's tally before the leaders take on Enppi. As it stands, Ahly, the defending league champions, sit top of the table with 38 points from 14 games with Maqasa second with 31 points from 13 games. Masri are third with 28 points from 14 games while Semouha sit fourth with 26 points from 14 games as well. Zamalek are in seventh place with 22 points but they have those four games in hand with maximum points of 34 if they win them all. In the relegation battle newly promoted Al-Nasr Lil Tadeen can already plan for life again in the second division starting from now as they sit at the bottom of the table with only six points from 14 games with Aswan having one point more in 17th place. In 16th place we have Sharqia with eight points but a game in hand and Tanta in 15th place with nine points from 14 games. A win for Sharqia in their postponed game will see them leave the relegation zone at the expense of Tanta who'll replace them. While it's too early to call the league winner, it is certain that the likes of Nasr, Tanta, Aswan, Sharqia and Dakhlia are the teams that will fight it out until the very end of the season to stay in the top division next season as they all are a level or two below the rest of the teams. On a separate note, Zamalek fans made their feelings known everywhere on social media towards the club's president Mortada Mansour after their draw with Aswan when the controversial chief suspended the salaries of all the players and the staff as punishment for their shocking result. The fans are blaming Mansour for the club's woes given that he is forever creating problems with everyone in the game, the league itself and even within the club not just outside it. The club suffers from the lack of stability since Mansour's return as president. Mohamed Helmi is the coach now but he could be out very soon since Mansour kicks out any manager who goes on a bad run of four or five games. Will Zamalek, defending cup champion and Champion League finalist, get back on track and challenge for the title this season? We'll see in the coming games.
