The start of the second week of the Vodafone National League saw Ahli and Zamalek in good form. Both teams won their matches with ease in preparation for their African contenders. Abeer Anwar reports Domination was the word of the week for the nation's favourites Ahli and Zamalek. Al-Ahli cruised through Mansoura in their Vodafone premiership clash last Friday at the Cairo stadium, literally walking away with the three points and three goals from Gilberto and Belal double. In the first half, Mansoura started with a 3-5-2 formation that was virtually transformed to a 5-5-0 system. Good movement, fast accurate passing and different attack combinations led to early pressure from Ahli that forced Mansoura to their half . Gilberto scored Ahli's first goal in the 16th minute with an excellent push down the left, after which he outran the Mansoura defence and sent a good low left-footer that hit the left post and rebounded into the net. Ahli's domination continued, and while Mansoura continued in its trials to take over the game, all attempts fell short of the penalty area. The second half was a replica of the first one. Ahli continued its domination, and Mansoura its attempts to push forward with numerous attacks. All, however, were neutralised prematurely by midfield and defence. With some pressure, Ahmed Belal struck his team's 2nd at the 69th after a spell of flash, short passing with the ever-present Gilberto providing the final assist. Reda joined the show in the 75th with a third goal. Hossam Ghaly earned a well-deserved red card for two cautions, but nevertheless, you would not have noticed that Ahli was one player short given that they retained a striking upper-hand through till the end. Ahli put on a display of superb play, but others had their fair share of attention too. Ittihad of Alexandria and Cairo giants, Zamalek, entertained the fans with one of the most active performances in the league this season. Both teams deserved the three points, as both sides showed promising form in the Alexandrine showdown. The match kicked-off with a speedy performance by both teams as both sides looked eager to score. Zamalek earned a free-kick that was converted to a fruitless corner. One minute later, Ittihad was in action as Yasser El-Shanawany attempted a long range shot for goal. Instead, it sailed just above the crossbar. Zamalek seemed to go on the offensive right from the start, while Ittihad came off as very impressive with the counter-attacks in combination with zone defence. Tareq El-Sayed, by far the best Zamalek player Friday's night, almost scored from a free-kick as the shot bounced just wide from the left post. This was almost instantly followed by another shot from Shanawany that was just saved by Abdel Wahid. It was not enough. Tareq outdid himself once more with a blazing shot that landed on top of the net -- reminding the fans of Sayed Abdel Hafiz's goal against Esperance in Tunisia. Ittihad's response came soon afterwards, with a multitude of short passes. The result was lightning-speed penetration of the Zamalek midfield, and a cross by Shanawany to Youssef Hamdy -- whose shot rebounded off a teammate. With 20 minutes gone, Abdel Halim stopped the pulses of the Alexandria fans as his cool strike went just wide. Only two minutes later, Ittihad was back with Hassan Mostafa's awesome strike that was just kept out Abdel Wahid's save. Just when Ittihad looked close to scoring, the inspired Hazem Emam made an excellent through- pass to Hossam Hassan. Hassan, of course, did not fail to capitalise on the chance, easily slotting it past Youssef Taher -- the Ittihad goalkeeper -- to score the team's first and only goal. Ittihad missed an excellent chance when Youssef Hamdy found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper. Hamdy rammed the ball thoughtlessly into the keeper's body, wasting one of his team's most precious chances. The beginning of the second half saw no substitutions, and began at a slow pace, Zamalek, however, looking much more solid on the pitch. The first chance for Zamalek came in minute five, as Hossam Hassan passed the ball back to his twin brother -- whose shot rebounded off the defender and onto a fruitless corner. Coach Talaat Youssef recognised the need to increase his team's attacking powers and added ex-Ismaily striker Ayman El-Gamal instead of midfielder Yasser El-Shanawany, to bring in a series of pretty attempts by Ittihad. Abul Ela substituted Abdel Halim in an effort to strengthen Zamalek's defencive abilities. In the 34th minute, just when Ittihad seemed close to scoring, a magnificent cross by Ibrahim Hassan was side-kicked by his evergreen brother just inches wide in a breath-taking effort that deserved the awe of all the fans . After 38 minutes, Ittihad missed the chance of the match, as Hussein Fahmy's rasping shot rammed straight into the bottom of Abdel Wahid's left post and rebounded out of the penalty area: Another striking effort in this energy- oozing match. After the successive fruitless chances, Ittihad seemed to lose heart. The match brought no more real chances for either team, and the match ended with a solitary goal. Week two of the Vodafone Premiership also witnessed an encounter between hosts Goldi and ENPPI, in Fayoum. The visitors surprised all by winning the game early in the first half, scoring the first from a penalty kick taken by Magdy Abdelaaty who later scored another goal before the break after hosts Goldi had equalised through Nabil Abuzeid. The second half witnessed more tactical play from both coaches as ENPPI defended well against Goldi who simply couldn't get the ball up front efficiently to score. The situation of Goldi, however, did not look as dire as the Arab Contractors stance. Under new manager Abdelaziz Abdelshafy, the Arab Contractors shared kicks with Helmy Tolan's Coast Guards. The match witnessed quite a few chances for Arab Contractors, but striker Sameh Youssef simply could not find the net. Coast Guards technical manager, Helmy Tolan, on the other hand, continued to enforce his impressive tactics with his new club, playing with a moderate game plan and defended well near the end. Arab Contractors have already lost five easy points from two games with newcomers ENPPI and Coast Guards. Other second week play saw an impressive game between Tersana and home team El-Masri at the Port Said stadium. The latter received non- stop cheering from their supporters but managed just one goal through new striker Mohamed Abdel Satar. They soon lost their lead, however, when Mostafa Abdel Aziz equalised for the visitors after the break to end the match with a 1-1 draw. Baladeyet El-Mahalla and Ghazl El-Mahalla clashed at home in front of their faithful supporters, but Baladiya were able to snatch the win through Basem Wagdy late in the second half. Mokhtar Mokhtar, Ghazl El-Mahalla technical manager, attempted to position his players in a more offensive formation, with more attacking midfielders but that clearly was not the correct decision as the defence could not keep up with the pressure and cracked twice. What the league's grand finale will bring is as unpredictable as some of the second week's place. Fans across the country, however, are sure to get a continued display of vigorous and passionate play.
