Ahli's sudden series of trip-ups is threatening their march towards another title. But the opposition is doing its part to help the defending champions, Ahmed Morsy reports Ahli can sleep a bit more comfortably after Petrojet beat Ismaili on Monday 1-0. The win stymied Ismaili's attempt to catch Ahli, the defending champions, who remain atop the leader board with 42 points after 21 games. Enppi and Petrojet are tied with 39 points and 22 games played. Ismaili drop to fourth on 38 points after 21 games. Observers say Ahli are lucky to still be in the lead after collecting just three points from their last four matches. Ismaili, who seeks to win their first league title since 2002, had blown the title race wide open with a 1-0 victory over a depleted Ahli side at Cairo Stadium. That was followed by a 0-0 draw in which 10-man Ahli failed to find their way through Police Union's tight defence. They also could not avenge their 1-0 defeat to Talaat Youssef's side in the first half of the season. Ahli's mercurial midfielder Mohamed Barakat was sent off in the second half for picking up two yellow cards, one for simulation in the penalty area and another for a clumsy tackle on a Police defender. Palestinian keeper Ramzi Saleh made his third successive start, replacing the error-prone Amir Abdul-Hamid and did admirably in keeping his net clean. Ahli coach Manuel Jose made two substitutions during the second half in a bid to improve his side's attack. Strikers Hani El-Egeizi and Ahmed Belal were introduced to play alongside Flavio but the pair, who do not play regularly, were obviously not fit. Jose's plans suffered another blow after Barakat received his marching orders six minutes past the hour mark for lunging at an opponent. The Portuguese tactician was forced to substitute Angolan hitman Flavio with right-back Ahmed Sedik. Ahli kept pushing forward despite their numerical disadvantage but failed to carve out any clear-cut chances. Police held firm to secure a share of the spoils with the defending champions. Police Union moved to ninth place on 27 points, seven clear of the relegation zone. Ahli assistant coach Hossam El-Badri refused to blame referee Gehad Greisha for his side's goalless draw. "I can't say that the referee cost us a win. He did not make any profound mistakes," El-Badri stated. "Our players played well but were unlucky in the first half and matters went from bad to worse when Barakat was sent off. "The competition will be fierce in the upcoming games, but I don't want Ahli supporters to be worried because we are determined to keep our title." Indeed, Ismaili's loss to Petrojet did go quite a ways to Ahli capturing their fifth straight league crown. Police assistant coach Mohamed Ibrahim lauded his team's defence that put Ahli strikers at bay throughout the match. "We were aware that Ahli will keep pushing forward during the whole game," Ibrahim said. "Credit our defenders for successfully marking Ahli. We succeeded in achieving our target of avoiding a defeat." Elsewhere, no sooner had Zamalek ended a six-game run without a win by beating Enppi 1-0 than they failed to build on their win by losing 2-1 to Haras Al-Hedoud and equal their worst record of nine Egyptian Premier League defeats in one season. Egyptian Cup winners Haras Al-Hedoud, who will play in next season's CAF Confederation Cup, moved into fourth place on 36 points as they continued their impressive form under manager Tarek El-Ashri. Al-Hedoud managed to break the deadlock after just five minutes. Ahmed Abdel-Ghani curled a superb free- kick over the wall and into the corner of the net past the hapless Abdel-Wahed Al-Sayed. Zamalek defender Amr El-Safti thought he had equalised shortly afterwards after Al-Hedoud keeper Mathurin Kameni spilled a tame cross into his path, but his goal was ruled offside. Zamalek still had better possession but rarely threatened Kameni as the efficient Al-Hedoud doubled their advantage on 27 minutes. Talented midfielder Abdel-Salam Nagah whipped in a pinpoint cross from the right and Abdel-Hamid Bassiouni rose above the static Amr Adel to head home. Sherif Ashraf, who came on as a second-half substitute, pulled one back with 13 minutes remaining but the hosts held onto their lead to claim all three points. Despite their defeat, Zamalek assistant coach Sami El-Sheshini was pleased with his side's performance. "We are gradually improving. We played a very good game tonight, especially in the second half," El-Sheshini told reporters after the match. "I just want Zamalek fans to be patient. The players produced promising displays and I'm sure the results will be better in the upcoming matches," El-Sheshini added. After the loss to Al-Hedoud, Zamalek lie ninth in the league table on 27 points, seven above the relegation zone. In other matches, Enppi remained in the title race with a 1-0 victory over Egypt Telecom, failing to end a 12-match winless streak in manager Hossam Hassan's debut. Al-Gaish produced an impressive display to beat Ittihad 4-1 on Saturday. The big win lifts Al-Gaish to eighth in the table with 29 points. Ittihad remain sixth, one point ahead of Farouk Gaafar's men. Ernest Papa Arku broke the deadlock for Gaish on 33 minutes, before a brace from Salah Amin (63, 81) and a 90th minute strike by Yassine Abdul-Aal sealed the win. Mohamed Ragab scored Ittihad's consolation in the 83rd minute. In Port Said, Tersana showed determination to remain in the first division by beating Misri 2-0. Ismaili were handed a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Esperance in the Arab Champions League (ACL) quarter-final first leg played in Tunisia last week. Mickael Eneramo broke the deadlock on 27 minutes before Oussama Darragi doubled Esperance's lead in the second half while Mohab Said scored a vital away goal for Ismaili 12 minutes from time. The home side opened the scoreline when Abdel-Hamid Sami brought down Michael Eneramo in the box. The Nigerian successfully sent Mohamed Sobhi the wrong way. As the Egyptian club tried to push for an equaliser, they were exposed at the back and Esperance looked closer to adding a second. Early in the second half, Eneramo was once again allowed to go one on one with Sobhi but the 28-year-old net minder did well to keep the shot out. In the 73rd minute, Darragi added his team's second by capitalising on some poor defending from Ismaili to slot home past the helpless Sobhi. Ismaili were brought back to life when Abdullah Saied's cross found Said unguarded on the far post, the midfielder easily heading past Kasraoui. The two teams will clash again in the tie's second leg in a week's time in Ismailia.
