Ahli new manager Mohamed Youssef was off to a winning start as the defending champions claimed a 2-1 victory over Bani Suef Telephones. Coach Youssef, who only replaced Hossam Al-Badri this week, made some changes to his side which included the return of Ahmed Shedid to the team's line-up and a first start to Ahmed Shokri. Curiously, goals from the left-footed duo won the game for Ahli, with Bani Suef defender Sherif Reda scoring in between as the outsiders were guilty of missing a number of chances to cause an upset. Group A leaders Ahli widen the gap on ENPPI to five points while Bani Suef remain fifth. Ahli punish wasteful Bani Suef Youssef's decision to reintroduce Shedid proved a successful move when the diminutive full-back opened the scoring with a curling freekick that was poorly dealt with by goalkeeper Ali Farag. But the champions were to pay from another set piece that was taken by former Zamalek winger Alaa Ali, who lofted in a cross for Reda to head in the equalizer. Ahli's defense looked in shambles and Bani Suef had two big chances to score before the break, with Saad Samir superbly blocking Mostafa Mehanna's effort. The second chance fell to a clear-on-goal Mohamed Sherweda, who was foiled by Sherif Ekrami. Shortly after the break, Bani Suef were punished for their wastefulness as another Youssef change paid off when Shokri fired home a low shot from range to claim the winner on his full season debut. Less than a minute later, Bani Suef were guilty of another shocking miss when Sherweda failed to hit the target from point-blank range on the volley.
