Ahli continued to sail while Zamalek stumbled again. Nashwa Abdel-Tawab rounds up the league Football week 21 ended with expected victories and losses not surprising. Ahli, with a whopping 61 points and the runaway league champions despite five games left, handily beat Cement Assiut 3-2 in Assiut. Experience won out over enthusiasm. Ahli's Emad Meteb, the league's leading scorer with 12 goals, opened the scoring in the 24th minute. In the 63th minute, Khaled Bibo added the second goal. Cement Assiut's Hassan Awwad cut the lead in half in the 35th minute. Then Castello, the Colombian import benched for most of the time since his wayward penalty shot cost Ahli a chance at the FA Cup, sealed the victory in the 43rd minute after a well-planned attack. Assiut protested the goal, saying the ball had not gone in. But the ball had in fact ripped through the goal net and bounced out. Zamalek, the defending champions, slipped to fifth place after losing 1-0 to newly promoted Suez Cement for the second time this season. It was the sixth loss for the defending champions who last year went undefeated in the season. Abdullah Afoko scored the only goal in the 57th minute. Team coach Brazilian Cabral took responsibility for the loss although he was trying out a fleet of new players now that the season is well out of reach. Kamal Darwish, Zamalek club president, fired Ibrahim Youssef, head of football affairs, and fined both Cabral and the players dearly for the result. Ahmed Refaat took over from Youssef. The Suez players were awarded bonuses for the precious victory. Zamalek remained as is with 33 points whereas Suez Cement jumped to seventh with 29 points. In the battle for second place, Enppi beat Ismaili 1- 0 with a goal by Hamada Shannah in the 73rd minute. Enppi are in second with 36 points, one point ahead of Ismaili. Ismaili's coach Mohsen Ortugal blamed the loss on a tight schedule of local and Arab fixtures. Bottom-of-the-table squads Baladiyet El-Mehalla and Tersana put on a fireworks display, Mehalla eventually coming out on top 4-3. The game witnessed two penalty kicks -- one for each side -- three suspensions and six cautions. Baladiyet now have 18 points and Tersana 20 points. In a military match, the Coastal Guards of Alexandria beat the Army 2-1, thus succeeding in snatching fourth place with 34 points. The latter stayed with 24 points. Misri beat Mansoura 1-0 in Port Said. The goal came in the 85th minute by El-Sayed El-Atabani. Misri have 30 points whereas Mansoura, at rock bottom, were held at 15. Ittihad of Alexandria reminded their fans that they could still win, edging Ghazl El-Mehalla 1-0 in Alex. The Nigerian Gasho scored the winner in the 49th minute. Ittihad have 21 points.
