Ahli struggle to chase after their arch-rivals Zamalek on top of the Egyptian national league table, reports Ahmed Morsy Title holders Ahli temporarily bounced to the second spot of the Egyptian domestic league standings after claiming a 1-0 hard-fought win over Al-Gaish in the seventeenth week of the national championship on Sunday. The rest of the seventeenth week's games of the league were scheduled to resume on Tuesday and Wednesday, yet Ahli played their match on Sunday due to having an away game in the Orange CAF Champions League 16th round against Zesco United of Zambia on Saturday. Ahli, six-time African champion, qualified to the round of 16 of the African Champions League after beating South Africa's Super Sport United 2-0 in the first leg before being defeated away 0-1 in the second leg. As for the league scheduled games, Misri were due to host El-Gouna, Haras Al-Hodoud ought to play against Smouha and Enppi were listed to meet on third-placed Ismaili while Wadi Degla clash against Misr Lelmakasah, all on Tuesday. Moreover, on Wednesday, fifth-placed Petrojet were scheduled to host leaders Zamalek in Suez. Besides, Military Production were planned to meet Arab Contractors while Ittihad were to host Police Union yesterday. Meanwhile, Ahli's 1-0 win over Al-Gaish temporarily picked them up to second place, three points adrift of leaders Zamalek while Al-Gaish remain 10th. Ahli's coach Manuel Jose handed Algerian starlet Amir Sayoud his first start this season to accompany striker Mohamed Fadl and mercurial midfielder Mohamed Barakat. The trio replaced Mohamed Abu Treika, Osama Hosni and Dominique da Silva who played in Ahli's squad the previous game. In the first half, Ahli dictated play in a one-sided game due to the swift moves of Sayoud and Barakat. In the 33rd minute, Fadl was sent through by a neat Barakat header, only for the lone Ahli striker to blast wide of the post. One minute later, Fadl returned the favour to Barakat with an insightful through pass, but Al-Gaish goalie Mohamed El-Shennawi made a bright intervention to halt the Ahli midfielder. In the second half, Jose fielded Abu Treika as a substitute to left-wing Sayed Moawad and the formation automatically switched to 4-4-2 with central defender Ahmed Fathi moving to left back. Despite being rusty upfront as he squandered another clear cut chance in the first minutes of the second half, Fadl was Ahli's most active player on the pitch which is why Jose kept faith in him. In order to raise the tempo, Jose introduced Mauritania import Dominique Da Silva and Mohamed Nagi 'Gedo'. Eight minutes from time, Jose's decision to keep Fadl paid off since the Ahli striker finally broke the deadlock with his first goal since September. El-Shennawi came off his goal to prevent Dominique from scoring before Fadl chased the loose ball to slot home in an empty net with a slight chest contact. Mauritanian striker Da Silva should have doubled Ahli's lead two minutes later, however, he blasted his attempt over the bar. On the other hand, Ahli are slightly concerned that the death of Kuwaiti businessman Nasser Al-Kharafi could have an impact on the club's ability to pay the salary of Jose. It is believed that Ahli are largely dependent on club- supporting businessmen in paying the salary of Jose, who earns around ê80,000 per month. Al-Kharafi passed away on Sunday and left Ahli wondering whether his worldwide group will carry on providing financial assistance to the club or not. Nevertheless, rumours in Egypt suggest that Al-Kharafi opened a bank account for the purpose of assisting Ahli in paying Jose's salary. Elsewhere, Ittihad's board of directors -- including chairman Essam Shaban -- resigned on Monday in the wake of intensive protests against them. Shaban was appointed as the president on a temporary basis following the departure of his predecessor Mohamed Moselhi in February. The interim board of directors was supposed to remain in charge until Ittiahd's upcoming presidential elections in September. Ongoing financial difficulties left Ittihad unable to pay the salaries of their players, which caused many first team figures to boycott training. The Alexandria team are now suffering at the bottom of the Egyptian national league table with only 11 points. Zamalek were not away from troubles either as their ace striker Ahmed Hossam 'Mido' will not wear Zamalek jersey this season and ought to sit out until the winter transfer window closes. Mido attacked Zamalek's management and the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) for delaying his international licence which keeps him away from the pitch this season. "I will not be able to play for Zamalek this season because they delayed my licence," Mido said during a press conference after Zamalek's training. "Zamalek management did not send the two copies of my contract to FIFA so they, in turn, still have not given me my license" Mido added. The 28-year old joined Zamalek last January after leaving his English team Middlesbrough and was to wear the white jersey immediately, but the 25 January Revolution in Egypt complicated getting the licence from his former team. Mido signed a three-and-a-half year contract with the Cairo giants last January without disclosing the financial details. "The Zamalek board could be accused of wasting public funds since I will receive my salary from the club without playing, according to my deal with management," he confirmed.
