Stubborn Ahli insist on maintaining their six-point league football lead, reports Ahmed Morsy Egyptian football fans were treated to a hefty slice of soccer when eight matches of the 24th week of the domestic league were played on Monday. Title holders Ahli remained in charge at the top with 52 points, Zamalek stayed in second with 46 points while Petrojet could not make up ground after going down to Ahli to stay on 38. With only six games left in the national league, Ahli are favourites to claim their sixth successive title. Not only do they have a six-point lead but have a game in hand against lowly Mansoura. Emad Meteb scored twice in the second half to lend Ahli a hand as they came from behind to beat third place Petrojet 2-1 at Cairo Stadium on Monday. Meteb increased his scoring tally to seven goals this season giving Ahli a much-needed win over the misfiring title contenders. It was the fourth defeat for Petrojet in the last five games. The first half was a dull affair as both sides were incapable of breaking the deadlock. However, the second half was an entirely different matter as the clubs went all out for a winner. Seven minutes after the break, Petrojet's defender Karim Zikri broke the offside trap and won the ball ahead of Ahli keeper Ahmed Adel, shoving it to striker Koffi Bekoe to score a scrappy goal and give his side the lead. In the 60th minute, Ahli responded when Meteb scored an unstoppable sizzler to level up the score. Petrojet goalkeeper Ahmed Fawzi denied Mohamed Abu Treika's effort but on the rebound and amid a host of Petrojet defenders, Meteb notched in the winner from six yards in the 73rd minute. Consequently, Petrojet coach Mokhtar Mokhtar fielded the league's top scorer Eric Bekoe and Egypt international El-Sayed Hamdi in an attempt to avoid a second successive defeat, but the changes bore no fruit. Ahli came close to making it three in injury time when Meteb capped a solo run with a classy backheel for Abu Treika who sloppily tried a dummy on Fawzi instead of firing home. Ahli assistant coach Alaa Maihoub praised both teams. "It was a tough game and both sides played very well. I think we are the best two teams in Egypt at present," said the former Ahli star after the game. Maihoub refused to point the finger at goalkeeper Adel for Petrojet's goal, stressing that the defence was also to blame. "It was a joint error. The defence failed to apply the offside trap and then Adel was a little late coming out of his goal. I think everyone takes the blame," he said. Meanwhile, Zamalek defender Mahmoud Fathallah converted a controversial penalty to give his side a precious 1- 0 victory over Spinning Mehalla. The victory, Zamalek's 11th under Hossam Hassan's management, helped the squad cement their position in second place on 46 points, six behind leaders Ahli. Spinning Mehalla dropped to 13th with 27 points. Shikabala was the first to have a shot on target when his 13th minute free kick was parried by Mehalla goalkeeper Ibrahim Farag. In the 19th minute, Zamalek striker Ahmed Gaafar won a clever penalty after he had beaten Mehalla's poor offside trap to go one on one with Farag, who seemed not to make contact with the Zamalek striker. It looked like Farag had dived but the referee pointed to the spot anyway and Fathallah sent the keeper the wrong way to score against his old club for the second season in a row. In the second half, both teams produced hardly any threat on goal for a long stretch before Zamalek goalkeeper Abdel Wahed El-Sayed was called into action in the 74th minute, denying a Marzouk Salah volley. Earlier, El-Sayed stretched to the fullest to tip over a direct kick by Mohamed El-Atrawi. Zamalek coach Hassan put the result before the performance following the hard fought victory. "The game was very difficult against a very enthusiastic Mehalla side," the Egypt legend said in the post-match press conference. "Mehalla played very well and that's how most teams play Zamalek and Ahli, but I am satisfied with the result. "I think my players were in good shape despite the number of absentees. It shows that we have a full squad ready to take part in any game. "We missed Hassan Mustafa and Ibrahim Salah in midfield, but Ahmed Abdel-Raouf played well." In other matches, domestic league debutants Military Production broke into the top four with a 1-0 victory over Ismaili. The win propelled Military Production to fourth in the table with 37 points. Tarek Yehia's team leapfrogged Ismaili with the deserved win. Both teams are tied on 37 points, but Production have a better goal difference. Elsewhere, relegation candidates Assiout Petroleum claimed their first home victory in 24 games, beating close rivals Mansoura 3-2 in Assiout. In one fell swoop, Assiout Petroleum climbed out of the bottom of the 16 team league to 15th on 16 points, while Mansoura slipped to last on 14.
