Masri demonstrated that their impressive victory over Ittihad in the Egyptian League opener was no fluke after overcoming title holders Ahli with a surprising 2-0 win. Former Egypt striker Hossam Hassan, with little coaching experience, read Manuel Jose's mind to prevail over Ahli, who are considered as the league's invincible team. Hassan's aim was to get a victory, unlike the majority of moderate teams who just try to sit back and snatch a valuable draw against Ahli. Masri players pushed forward from the very beginning and managed to expose Ahli's defense on several occasions. Actually they were helped by Jose's bizarre decision to leave key men Mohamed Abou-Treika and Ahmed Hassan on the bench. Ahli couldn't gain control over midfield without their influential duo, leaving Masri players with plenty of space to pass the ball around. Portuguese boss Jose introduced Abou-Treika and Hassan in the second half, but by the time the substitutions were made Masri were already having a complete control over the game. The Port Said-based club deservedly claimed a win, thanks to two goals from defender Mohamed Gaber and left-back Ahmed Shedid either side of the interval. Does that win means that small teams in the Egyptian League have the ability to compete with big-spenders Ahli and Zamalek? "Money doesn't necessarily bring success," the 41-year-old coach Hassan, who won a record 170 caps for Egypt, told FilGoal.com. "Masri have a limited transfer budget, but the club still managed to impress after signing three players for moderate prices." Hassan's approach may encourage fellow moderate teams to play some attacking football against the likes of Ahli and Zamalek. Old Mates, New Foes Forgotten players at Ahli and Zamalek usually impress when they join other Egyptian teams, where they get enough time to prove their worth. That was the case in the Egyptian League's second round.
Shalabi scored againsr former club Zamalek Ahmed Shedid killed off Ahli's hopes of claiming an equalizer when he notched Masri's second goal with six minutes remaining. The diminutive left-back was sold by Ahli to Masri in the close season after failing to convince Jose that he has the sufficient quality to play first-team football with the Red Devils. “Coach Hassan trusted me, and I repaid him,” Shedid told Al-Hayat channel. “Jose gave me the chance when I was playing for Ahli, but I had never found confidence there.” Similarly, another left-back, Farag Shalabi, netted Ittihad's equalizer in the 1-1 draw with Zamalek – his old club. Shalabi was even set-up by right-back Ahmed Hossam, who was released by Zamalek in the close season. Petrojet Hit Al-Gaish for Six Petrojet produced the stunning victory of the week, hammering Al-Gaish 6-2 to secure their second successive league win. The Petroleum club kicked off their league campaign by overcoming another respected club in Harras Al-Hodoud. “I didn't expect Petrojet to win by that big margin because Al-Gaish are a very good team,” Petrojet coach Mokhtar Mokhtar told FilGoal.com. “But my players were in an exceptional condition in terms of fitness and tactics. That's why they managed to claim such an impressive win. “The players also took advantage of Al-Gaish defensive mistakes as well as capitalizing on the opponents' mis-placed passes to make neat counter attacks.” Petrojet's good start is mainly down to their ability to keep most of their stars at the club. The wealthy club rejected lucrative offers from Ahli and Zamalek to sell stars Osama Mohamed and Ahmed Shaaban. They just offloaded midfielder Hussein Ali, who joined Ahli but is yet to make a competitive appearance with his new team.
