Just one point separates Zamalek and Ahli in the Egyptian football league, Ahmed Morsy reports The Egyptian domestic football league is heating up following the 21st week of games played Sunday and Monday. Title holders Ahli, with 42 points, are one point behind their arch-rivals Zamalek who have been leading the league table for months. Ismaili are also in the chase with 38 points. Nine games remain. On Monday, league leaders Zamalek scored three goals in the last ten minutes to defeat Smouha 3-0 and grab a crucial three points in the campaign to win their first league title in six years. Zamalek coach Hossam Hassan gave the Algerian striker Mohamed Aoudia a role in the starting squad at the expense of striker Ahmed Gaafar and the fit-again Amr Zaki. Although Zamalek dominated play in the first half, the strugglers Smouha, who occupy 15th place with 17 points, surprisingly caused a threat on goal thanks to their Ghanaian striker Samuel Affum. Before the half-hour mark, Affum had the best chance of the first half when he was sent through to find himself one-on- one with Zamalek goalie Abdel-Wahed El-Sayed, but the goalkeeper brilliantly came out to make a crucial save. As a result of Smouha's air tight defence, Hassan featured Hussein Yasser as a substitute for right winger Hazem Emam in the 34th minute. The 57th minute witnessed the first real Zamalek threat on goal when Shikabala emerged on the scene with a long-range effort that went inches wide of the right post. Hassan had no choice but to involve Gaafar and Zaki for Mohamed Ibrahim and Aoudia. Eleven minutes from time, Shikabala threaded a perceptive pass for Zaki in the left flank, who found Gaafar on the far post with a fine cross pass, Gaafar to bundle in easily from close range to break the deadlock and give Zamalek a late lead. In the 90th minute, Yasser doubled the score with an impressive solo effort. The talented forward darted through Smouha defence from his team's area, taking on two defenders and manoeuvring past the third, before slotting home a low shot past goalkeeper Mohamed El-Arabi. In the third minute of injury time, Shikabala used his pace to get past former Zamalek defender Beshir El-Tabie who brought the Zamalek star down inside the area. Shikabala stepped up with poise to send El-Arabi the wrong way to score his 11th goal this season, the league's top scorer so far. The win ended a three-match winless streak for Zamalek. However, Zamalek striker Gaafar believes that his side have an easier road towards the Egyptian domestic league title than holders Ahli. "Zamalek are done with all the tough tests this season, whereas Ahli still have some very difficult games," Gaafar said. "We played against Petrojet, Gouna and Ismaili away and I believe our path is much easier towards the title as we're still top." As for third-placed Ismaili, they missed the chance of advancing closer to second place Ahli after slumping to a surprise 1-0 home to lowly Arab Contractors on Sunday. The defeat, Ismaili's first under manager Emad Suleiman, left them in third place with 38 points, four adrift of second-placed Ahli. The only goal of the game was scored by Nigerian striker Musa Kabiru after 16 minutes. Kabiru took advantage of the hosts poor marking to head in the winning goal past Mohamed Fathi, who continued in goal instead of starter Mohamed Sobhi. The Arab Contractors moved up one place to lie third from bottom on 19 points. On Monday, Ittihad failed to move from the bottom of the league table, where they have been languishing, as the Alexandrian side played out a goalless draw at home with Al-Gouna. Al-Gouna remain in 12th place with 23 points while Ittihad, who seem to be relegation-bound, are on 16 points. Elsewhere on Monday, Ahli beat 10-man Wadi Degla 2-1 to close to within one point of league leaders Zamalek. In the fifth minute, youngster Ahmed Nabil 'Manga' managed to give the early lead to Ahli. Ahli midfielder Moataz Eno sent a long pass towards an unopposed Dominique Da Silva but Degla goalkeeper Haitham Mohamed won the race to clear the ball but his awkward clearance went in the direction of Ahli right back Manga who had no trouble slotting into an empty net from outside the area. Nevertheless, Wadi Degla's Syrian striker Mohamed Al-Agha hit the equaliser only 10 minutes later. Al-Agha was unmarked to break the offside trap and latch onto a diagonal cross. His first poor effort hit the post before he scored on the rebound. In the 23rd minute, Da Silva failed to convert a golden chance when he went one-on-one with the keeper after Mohamed Nagi 'Geddo' stole the ball from a challenger near the centre and released the Senegalese ace. Da Silva tried to chip the ball over the goalie, who competently parried his shot before Geddo distressingly saw his low follow-up effort go inches past the woodwork. Wadi Degla goalie Mohamed was sent off five minutes past the half-hour mark for deliberately handling the ball outside the area as Da Silva tried to lift the ball over his head. Consequently, keeper Rami Serag replaced midfielder Ahmed Mekki. In injury time in the first half, Da Silva fired Ahli up front once again when he netted his first goal in the Egyptian league with a powerful shot that Serag could not parry. The second half was by far event-free, with both teams unable to show goal menace. "We don't have to win with more than one goal difference to snatch the league title," Pedro Barny, Manuel Jose's assistant coach, said. "We are satisfied with the three points of each game. However, we squandered many clear-cut chances. That's why we didn't perform in the finest form," Barny added. Wadi Degla's coach Belgian Walter Meeuws said that playing over an hour with 10 players was enough not to grab the equaliser. "We played well and proved we are a team playing good football, but the expulsion deprived us of a tie," Meeuws said. "When you face a great team like Ahli, you must not make mistakes but we got into this trap twice: while handing them the first goal and then in the snapshot of the exclusion."
