Ahli tied Zamalek to a goalless draw on Saturday to edge closer to their second successive local league title. After the tie, Zamalek remained at the top of the local league on 36 points while Ahli are placed second one point behind but still have three matches in hand. In the first-half, the two Egyptian giants split the domination on the midfield and created several scoring opportunities but the back three in both teams were in command. Ahli looked slightly better after the break but failed to create chances as Zamalek remained dangerous on the break. Zamalek's defending midfielder Tamer Abdul-Hamid and his Ahli opposite number Hassan Mostafa received yellow cards for aggressive challenges in the first period. Ahli's Hossam Ashour was also booked in the second-half. Missed Chances Osama Hosni squandered the first chance of the game after just four minutes when he curled a left-footer but Zamalek keeper Abdul-Wahid Al-Sayed palmed it into a corner-kick. Zamalek striker Mostafa Gaafar, who made his debut in the Cairo derbies, almost broke the deadlock in the 19th minute as he headed an inch-perfect cross just wide.
Two minutes later, Al-Sayed was forced to make another save when he blocked Mostafa's long-range shot before holding on to the ball before Mohamed Abdul-Wahab benefited from the rebound. Zamalek's Yousef Hamdi, who was moved by Portuguese coach Manuel Cajuda to the right flank instead of his initial position in the midfield, forced Ahli keeper Essam Al-Hadari into action in the 24th minute. Hamdi latched on to a deft through pass from Gaafar, rounded Abdul-Wahab and fired a close-range bullet at Al-Hadari who punched the ball away. Idle Period After the break, the pace got slower as both teams' players committed a huge number of turnovers that made the chances even fewer. In the 65th minute, Gamal Hamza powered his way past two of Ahli defenders and chipped the ball to the darting Abdul-Halim Ali who slammed the ball wide. One minute later, Emad Meteb raced down the left and set-up the unmarked Ashour who fired at Zamalek defense then sent a weak shot into Al-Sayed's hands on the rebound. Cajuda made two changes as he sent on captain Hazem Emam, Tarek Al-Saied and Mohamed Aboul-Ella for Gaafar, Ali and Abdul-Hamid. On the other hand, Ahli manager Manuel Jose threw youngster Ahmed Shedid into the fray replacing international left-back Abdul-Wahab and Angolan international striker Flavio Amado for Hosni.
