Ahmed Morsy wonders whether Ahli can preserve their league title Title holders Ahli have chosen the hard way of doing things after drawing 2-2 with Enppi on Monday to drop another two precious points in their title quest. Despite the draw, defending champions Ahli are still atop but only level with Ismaili on 54 points, with three games remaining for each team. Ahli face Tersana today. Ahli have now gone three games without a win. They were previously held to goalless draws with Zamalek and Spinning Mehalla. On Monday, Enppi saw their lead upended twice after goals from Mustafa Gaafar and Ahmed El-Mohammadi were cancelled out by an own-goal by Abdullah Ragab and a penalty by Mohamed Abu-Treika respectively. The edgy match at Military Academy Stadium witnessed a series of pulsating events, including two expulsions to Ahli coach Manuel Jose and full-back Sayed Moawad in addition to a total of 12 yellow cards, 8 for Enppi and the rest for Ahli. Ahli, who missed suspended forward Flavio Amado, fielded Hani El-Egeizi as a lone striker, while the fit-again Mohamed Barakat started on the bench. They were dealt a blow early on when centre-half Wa'el Gomaa appeared to have pulled a hamstring. Ahmed Fathi, who was surprisingly left out of the starting 11, was called to replace the injured Gomaa at the heart of defence in the seventh minute. Ten minutes later, matters became worse for Ahli when Mohamed Samir's poor clearance allowed Ahmed Raouf to gather the ball and shoot from close range. Ramzi Saleh saved, only for Gaafar to notch home on the rebound to equalise. The African champions were lucky to get back on level terms two minutes later, after full-back Ragab headed Ahmed Hassan's threatening cross into his own net. However, Ragab's error was nothing compared to Saleh's 26th minute blunder, which allowed Enppi to restore their lead. The Palestinian goalkeeper committed a rare mistake when he made a mess of Al-Muhammadi's unremarkable long-range effort, which scraped into the net amid shocked Ahli defenders. Contrary to the first half, Ahli made a bright start after the break as Abu-Treika slotted home from the penalty spot in the 47th minute, following slight contact with Osama Ragab on the Egypt playmaker, to level the score again. After the match, referee Medhat Abdel-Aziz was escorted to the dressing room by guards as Ahli players and staff were apparently furious with his performance. Ahli assistant coach Hossam El-Badri believes that referee Abdel-Aziz shouldn't have been selected to officiate the match. "The edgy atmosphere inside and outside the pitch was caused by the referee. He was nervous and he made others nervous as well," El-Badri said after the game. "He was not fit to take charge of a game of such importance. I wonder how the refereeing committee chose him." El-Badri admitted that the defending champions conceded two soft goals in the crucial encounter. "I don't want to hold anyone responsible for the goals we conceded. They were ill-fated goals, but it happens in football," he added. The point gave Enppi, in fifth, 45. Gomaa suffered a muscle tear, Ahli doctor Ehab Ali later confirmed. "Gomaa will be out for at least three weeks with a torn hamstring," Ahli's chief medic told the Ahli satellite channel after the game. In the demotion battle, relegation-threatened Assiout Petroleum popped out of the relegation zone with a decisive 1-0 win over Ittihad on Monday. Full-back Sherif Nawareg scored the only goal of the game in the 62 minute, handing the petroleum side their second successive victory. They advanced to 10th place on 32 points, while Ittihad remained eighth with 36. Assiout will face Zamalek next week, before clashing with relegation rivals Egypt Telecom in the season's finale on 15 May. Egypt Telecom overturned a two-goal deficit to draw 2-2 with Petrojet. Egypt Telecom were comfortably holding a first-half lead, thanks to goals from Alaa Ibrahim and Eric Bekoe. However, Hossam Hassan's team levelled things after the break, courtesy of two headers from Ahmed Omran and Mohamed Ateya. Despite their courageous comeback, Telecom remain third from bottom with 29 points while Petrojet remained fourth on 47 points. Olympic look destined to leave the top flight after losing 3-1 to Haras Al-Hedoud. Goals from Ahmed Said, Ahmed Eid and Abdel-Hamid Bassiouni sealed the win for Hedoud, while Mahmoud El-Attar scored Olympic's only goal. Hedoud are third with 49 points, and Olympic are rock bottom on 23 points. Elsewhere, Spinning Mehalla held Police Union to a goalless draw.
