Halfway through the Egyptian domestic league, Ahli are as usual on top of the table, reports Ahmed Morsy The Egyptian national football league will take a break for 50 days because of Egypt's preparations for the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) which gets underway next month. Before the rest period, the 15th week of the league, the halfway point, was played. Defending champions Ahli hold a six-point lead while derby rivals Zamalek leapfrogged to fifth place after fluttering dangerously near the relegation zone. Ahli clinched a hard-fought 1-0 win at Military Production on Sunday. Despite winning the game, Ahli were obviously affected by the absence of a number of their regulars and the compulsory dependence on youngsters. Mohamed Abu Treika, Mohamed Barakat, Moataz Eno and Hossam Ashour are all out of action with respective injuries. Ahli are on 35 points, while closest rivals Petrojet have 29. The hosts could have taken the lead when former Zamalek midfielder Mohamed Aboul-Ella came close to opening the scoring, but his effort went past the post. Military Production controlled the game for a short while in terms of possession till Ahli broke the deadlock. Ahmed Hassan was felled outside the area to earn a free-kick, which Meteb converted to give Ahli a slender lead one minute from the half-hour mark. Ahli had the upper hand afterwards but failed to double their lead in the first half. In the second half, Military Production took hold of the game, but Ahli were dangerous on the counter attack. Ahli goalie Ahmed Adel, tipped to turn from a regular into a deputy keeper when Sherif Ekrami arrives at the Cairo club in January, prevented the home side from converting a host of clear-cut opportunities. Adel sustained a facial injury after colliding with a challenger in the area. He was briefly treated on the pitch for bleeding from the nose and mouth. Ahli are vying for their sixth consecutive league crown. A last-minute winner by Amr El-Safti gave Zamalek a 1-0 victory over Mansoura also on Sunday. Zamalek's victory was their third on the trot under coach Hossam Hassan and lifted them to fifth place with 21 points, four points behind fourth-placed Al-Gaish. Mansoura remain in penultimate place from the bottom on 10 points. Zamalek's firepower was disabled after Mido, who fell suddenly with no challengers in close proximity, was replaced with off-form Remi Adiko. Zamalek's Shikabala had the only worth- mentioning scoring opportunity in the first half when he tried his luck from inside the area, but his drive was blocked. First-half substitute Adiko was taken off after putting in a below-par performance. Sherif Ashraf was sent in instead, reviving Zamalek's frontline. Mansoura guardian Mahmoud Aboul-Saoud shined more than once. He parried a precise Sherif Ashraf free-kick on 68 minutes as well as other efforts throughout the game. An Ahmed Gaafar header in the dying minutes hit the post, before El-Safti scored on the rebound from close range to earn Zamalek all three points. However, Zamalek's victory was partly marred when midfielder Hassan Mustafa was dismissed deep into stoppage time for two bookable offences. Zamalek boss Hassan said after the game that he believed he had put an end to a number of the club's long-lasting problems in around three weeks. Under Hassan's management Zamalek lost to Haras Al-Hedoud and drew with Ahli before registering three consecutive wins over Misri, Petroleum Assiout and Mansoura. "We solved a large number of Zamalek's problems which appeared over the years," Hassan told the post-match press conference. "But we still have a long way to go. "Our biggest challenge of late was the psychological barrier." Elsewhere, in-form Ittihad shared honours with Enppi in a 1-1 draw. Egypt winger Ahmed El-Muhammadi put Enppi in front in the 29th minute after converting a penalty but Ittihad striker Mohamed Ragab headed home six minutes before the break to secure a share of the spoils. Ittihad, who extended their unbeaten run under Brazilian coach Carlos Cabral to nine matches, lie seventh on 20 points. Enppi are fifth with 21 points. Haras Al-Hedoud extended their winless streak to four games after being held to a goalless draw by Spinning Mehalla on Saturday, just a few days after their coach Tarek El-Ashri decided to remain at the helm. Ahli's closest rivals Petrojet failed to close the gap on the league leaders after they played out a 1-1 stalemate at Arab Contractors on Sunday. Reda El-Weeshi put the hosts in front five minutes from the hour mark, before Petrojet's Eric Bekoe, top scorer of the league with 11 goals, brought the score level in the 73rd minute. Ismaili's coaching staff reportedly resigned after the club's board fined the players LE30,000 who featured in Sunday's goalless draw with Petroleum Assiout. for their lacklustre performance against the league's worst side. It was reported that head coach Emad Suleiman decided to step down because of the "club's board interference in his job." Third place Ismaili missed out on a chance to move up to second spot after they were surprisingly held at home to a stalemate by Assiout, who haven't won a single match this season.
