Emad Meteb notched home in the dying seconds to lead Ahli to a hard-fought 1-0 away victory over Ittihad Alexandria in the Egyptian League on Monday. The victory put the African champions in a commanding position to secure the league title for the third successive year as they are in charge of the table with 56 points, 11 ahead of second-placed Ismaili. Ittihad lie in ninth spot with 25 points. Ahli coach Manuel Jose, who watched from the stands due to a four-game suspension, played with a defensive-minded midfield that resulted in striking duo Meteb and Flavio Amado being isolated upfront. The first-half witnessed rare opportunities from both sides but it was Ittihad who, surprisingly, had the upper hand. The first chance for the visitors came in the 16th minute through Mohamed Nagui 'Geddo' when he capitalized on Emad Al-Nahhas's poor clearance inside the area to send a right-footed strike that went just wide. Ittihad lacked efficiency in front of goal as they were missing their top scorer Mohamed Farouk due to suspension. In the 18th minute, Ahmed Saleh raced through Ahli's midfield and drilled a low shot from a tight angle but it was too weak to annoy Ahli keeper Essam Al-Hadari.
Ahli's only chance came in the 35th minute when Meteb's curling free-kick was handled by Ittihad keeper Essam Mahmoud. Egypt international striker Meteb appealed for penalty four minutes before the break when he was apparently tugged inside the area but the referee waved play on. Television replays were inconclusive. The Cairo giants dominated the entire second-half and squandered several opportunities to break the deadlock. Four minutes after re-start, Meteb connected with Islam Al-Shater's inch-perfect cross from the right-flank to head the ball just wide of the post. Midfielder Mohamed Shawki almost put Ahli ahead eight minutes after the hour mark when Flavio's deflected shot fell into his path with the goal at his mercy but the former Masri player fired poorly wide. Ittihad paid the price for their defensive approach after conceding a goal in stoppage time amid the stunned home crowd. Meteb brilliantly controlled Abdul-Hamid Hassan's header inside the area and hit a left-footed low drive into the back of the net.
