CAIRO: Mohamed Aboutrika celebrated his 33rd birthday with a goal in a 3-2 victory for Ahly against ENPPI on Monday. The Red Devils started off with a blaze after two minutes when forward Emad Moteb put the visitors up on a great solo effort. The target man scooped up a mistake in the ENPPI half and went to work. He sprinted down the left side and got around a trailing defender then from close range opened up and put the ball over the keeper. ENPPI were disjointed the whole first half and watched as Ahly played the ball around with ease. In the 34th a high cross into the box connected with Aboutrika which was bad news for the defender covering him. In the air there was a collision between Osama Ragab and the Egypt star who was shoved from behind. A penalty was awarded; it was a fair call as the defender never made contact with the ball and just launched himself into his back. Aboutrika then stepped up calmly and put away the penalty in the top left corner. It was all Al Ahly in the first half. The second half was another game completely. ENPPI came out on the attack and tested Ahly keeper Sherif Ekrami from the get go. Their advances paid off with a goal after 50 minutes from Ahmed Abd El-Zaher who was in the right spot at the right time. A cross from wide left deflected off an Ahly defender and then bounced off the crossbar and fell to El-Zaher who did well to finish with a left footed shot inside the post. Five minutes later a strange play resulted in another penalty this time for ENPPI. A high ball into the box, which should have been dealt with easily, bounced off Ekrami's hands and an ENPPI player went after it at the end line. Ekrami, also in chase, appeared to jump on the opposing player's back and pulled him down on the line. A penalty was given but ENPPI could not capitalize as Islam Awad's kick went wide left. The game had completely shifted with Ahly looking sluggish and disorganized especially in the back line which has experienced a number of injuries in recent weeks. In the 64th minute, however Ahly struck back with a rocket blast from Walid Soliman. The attacker took an excellent Aboutrika pass at the top of the box and unleashed a left footed missile into the top left corner of ENPPI's goal which put the Red Devils up 3-1. ENPPI were not done though. In the 82nd minute a slide tackle in the midfield forced an Ahly turnover which quickly turned into a three-on-two situation. Mohamed Shaaban picked up a smooth pass and finished over the keeper to make the score 3-2. Ahly held out for the victory but not without a nervous finish as their three-player backline looked out of sorts for the final fifteen minutes. Ahly sit in first on fourteen points and Masr El Makasa sit in second place with eleven points after their win against Al Dakhlya. Rivals Zamalek play Tuesday against El Shorta. BM
