Ossama Hosni's late strike saved Ahli from an embarrassing defeat against a resilient Petrojet side which held the African masters to a 2-2 draw in Suez. Substitute Hosni saved the day for the Egyptian champions with a late equalizer (90+4), after Alaa Ibrahim (28) and Mohamed Koffi (47) gave Petrojet a shocking lead, following Mohamed Abou-Treika's early spot-kick (3). Ahli entered the game knowing that the three points could grant them a third straight title, four weeks before the end. Manuel Jose opted to rest skipper Shady Mohamed and start with Ahmed Al-Sayed and Wael Gomaa at the heart of the defense. The Red Devils just needed two minutes to break the deadlock, when Abou-Treika converted a well-taken penalty after he was tackled by goalkeeper Ahmed Fawzi inside the area, who was lucky not to see red in the process. It was a question of how much goals will Petrojet concede by that moment, as almost everyone expected the African champions to produce a sizzling finale to their campaign. However, the table turned on the champs just as Abou-Treika failed to convert his second penalty of the day, after his effort skimmed off the post in the 14th minute. Petrojet striker Ibrahim punished his former club when he fired home a low close-range shot in the 28th minute following monstrous marking by Ahli backline. The home side saw their manager Mokhtar Mokhtar, who was a former Seventies star for the Reds, sent off after 38 minutes for protesting. Ahli made a half-time substitution by fielding Mohamed in for Al-Sayed to strengthen his shaky defense but the move did not prove helpful as Ivorian midfielder Koffi smashed in the second on the rebound after Al-Hadari initially blocked Osama Mohamed's fierce shot. Ahli committed men forward in search for an escape from the embarrassing defeat, but a defiant Petrojet side managed to hold on, much credit goes to former Ahli custodian Fawzi who produced some heroics to keep his side in front. However, the competent goalkeeper was finally beaten in the 94th minute, when substitute Hosni snatched a close-range volley to level the score.
