Egyptian league leaders Petrojet cemented their top spot with a hard-fought 3-2 away victory over Ittihad on Saturday. Forward Alaa Ibrahim's first-half brace (11, 26) helped his team control the game before Youssef Abdul-Haim pulled one back just before the break. Defender Rami Saied restored Petrojet's two-goal cushion on 58 minutes. Veteran striker Abdul-Hamid Hassan 'Mido' narrowed the gap 11 minutes later but surprise package Petrojet held onto their slender lead to claim all three points. Now the revitalized Petroleum side have 24 points, four ahead of second-placed ENPPI, while the Alexandria-based Ittihad remained seventh with 14. Offensive Strategy Mokhtar's men came on with all guns blazing, and their offensive strategy paid dividends in no time. Ibrahim opened the scoring when he latched on to Mahmoud Abdul-Hakim's deft through to slot past Al-Hani Soliman in the right corner of the net.
Petrojet still on top Minutes after, Petrojet's current top scorer doubled the lead when he volleyed home Osama Mohamed's left-flank cross. The Visitors kept the upper hand throughout the first half, while the hosts suffered from hostile chants from their own spectators. Ittihad's Abdul-Rahim aggravated the tension when he made an insulting gesture towards his own fans by pointing at his shoe after converting a penalty kick just before the break. The costal side tried to overturn their 2-1 deficit after restart and intensified their attacks. However, Petrojet were dangerous on the counter attack and had more clear-cut opportunities. Ibrahim was close to completing a hat-trick on 49 minutes with a good header, but he missed by a nuance. Later on, Saied scored the third for his side from a penalty kick, refusing to celebrate his goal out of respect to Ittihad, the club he left in the close season to join Petrojet. The Visitors eased up after widening the gap, which paved the way for Alexandrians to redeem themselves. Mido tucked in Ittihad's second after connecting with Farag Shalabi's cross, and the home side exerted extra efforts to equalize, but in vain.
