Ahli returned to winning ways in the Egyptian League after Mohamed Barakat's last-gasp strike gave them a hard-fought 1-0 home victory over Ghazl Mahalla on Thursday. The mercurial midfielder broke Mahalla's resistance deep into stoppage time to hand Ahli a precious win. The Red Devils made amends for some poor league displays recently. Ahli, who are seeking to win a fifth consecutive league title, lost to Police Union and drew with ENPPI before facing Mahalla. They moved into fourth place in the league table with 20 points. Ahli would go top should they win their three rescheduled games. The African champions will fly to Japan on Friday to take part in the FIFA Club World Cup, which runs from December 11-21. Dull Half The first-half was a dull affair, with neither side making real threats on goal. Ahli dominated possession but failed to test Mahalla keeper Sameh Ali while the visitors relied on tame counter attacks. After 12 minutes, Mahalla's Mozambican striker Danilho Daniel escaped his marker to connect with Mohamed Abdul-Shafi's cross and head goalwards but his effort went wide of the post. Mahalla had a decent chance five minutes later after some good work from left-back Abdul-Shafi, who attracts the interest of Cairo duo Ahli and Zamalek.
Barakat scored the winner He was found unmarked by a precise pass inside the area but his angled shot missed the target. Late Goal In the second half, Mahalla sat back in a bid to keep the clean sheet. Their approach helped Ahli gain complete control as the Cairo giants created a handful of clear-cut chances. Angolan striker Flavio Amado almost put Ahli in front in the 70th minute with a deft header but Amr Ramadan's goal-line clearance denied him. Two minutes later, Qatari winger Hussein Yasser, who was introduced instead of right-back Ahmed Sedik, fired a powerful shot that was brilliantly tipped over by Ali. Ten minutes from time, Rami Adel's diving header from Gilberto's superb free-kick struck the woodwork. Ahli's pressure finally paid off three minutes into the additional time. A Gilberto corner caused mayhem in defense, with Mahalla defenders clearing successive shots from Ahli forwards. Barakat managed to send a fierce drive into the bottom corner after the goal-mouth scramble. Watch Ahli's goal
