Zamalek's win propelled them to the top of the league table but Ahmed Morsy wonders for how long With almost a third of the Egyptian domestic league football season complete, the table could be in for a change when the 10th week begins today, Thursday. First-placed Zamalek, who haven't won the league since 2004, play Al-Gaish, who occupy the 14th spot with eight points, at 4.45pm in Military Stadium. Ahli, the defending champions who are in third place with 14 points but have three games in hand, clash with fourth- placed Enppi, who have the same number or points, in Cairo Stadium at 7.00pm. And Misri, in seventh place, host Ismaili who possess two postponed games and are sixth. Two more games are scheduled for tomorrow. Ittihad host Petrojet and Smouha clash with Police Union in Arab Contractors territory. In the previous week, played after a three-week league hiatus because of African commitments by clubs and the national team, Ahli won a 1-0 hard-fought victory over Petrojet in Suez. Ahli's win boosted their morale after their elimination from the CAF African Champions League semi-final at the hands of Esperance of Tunisia. Mohamed Nagi 'Gedo' was placed as the lone striker owing to the injuries of the trio Francis Doe, Mohamed Fadl and Osama Hosni as well as the absence of Mohamed Talaat for disciplinary purposes. However, it was Gedo who scored Ahli's goal to maintain their victorious run against Petrojet of four wins in six matches. Ahli needed only 19 minutes to grab a deserved lead after mounting early pressure. A dreadful defensive clearance fell to Ahli's winger Mohamed Barakat, who found Gedo with a precise cross and the former Ittihad man made no mistake with a fine side-footed shot. This is Gedo's first year in Ahli after becoming top scorer in the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations with five goals, all coming as a second half substitute. Egypt won the trophy after Gedo scored the winning goal against Ghana in the final. Ahli almost added the second in the 34th minute when Petrojet defender Sherif Hazem accidentally headed a cross past his own keeper but was able to make a last second goal-line clearance. In the second half, Petrojet began to dominate possession and threaten goalkeeper Sherif Ekrami. The petroleum side midfielder Kamal Ali curled a wonderful shot that was denied by the post nine minutes after the restart. Petrojet's players enthusiastically celebrated an apparent equaliser towards the end only to see a Mahmoud Samna effort correctly disallowed for offside. Elsewhere, Zamalek posted a 2-0 win over Police Union, who slipped to second spot with 15 points, thanks to their black pearl Shikabala who scored the brace which put Zamalek in first place. Police slumped to their first defeat of the season. Ahmed Gaafar led the Cairo giants' attack in the absence of injured striker Amr Zaki, playing in front of Shikabala and Alaa Ali. In the 37th minute, forward Gaafar flicked a fine long ball from central midfielder Hani Said into the path of Shikabala, who amazingly controlled the ball in spite of two defenders and beat the keeper at the near post with a left-footer. At half-time, Gaafar was replaced after suffering a head injury, making way for youngster Mohamed Ibrahim as Zamalek played the second half without an obvious striker. But the pace and skills of lively duo Shikabala and Ibrahim gave Police defenders all sorts of problems. In the 56th minute, Shikabala, a target of Belgium side Anderlecht, gathered Ibrahim's pass on the edge of the area and rifled an unstoppable shot that zoomed into the top corner of the net. Shikabala's performance is sure to raise questions as to why Egypt's coach Hassan Shehata has excluded the midfielder from the current qualifying matches for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations. Meanwhile, the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) announced on Saturday that it was considering creating a reserves league next season. "The idea of creating a league for second tier teams will be discussed," a statement on the official website of EFA said. "The EFA would like to follow in the footsteps of many European countries which employ the system." Egyptian domestic league players usually feature in youth teams when they recover from injuries. The fringe players also take part in those matches to stay fit and make up for lack of playing time at the senior level. The EFA also said it would discuss the issue of a professional league during the meeting. Under an obligation from world governing body FIFA, the Premier League should turn professional starting in the 2012- 2013 season.
