Ahli went top of the Egyptian Premier League table after beating Masri 2-1 at the Cairo International stadium on Saturday. The game's goals came courtesy of a Mohamed Hafez own goal (19) and an Ahmed Hassan striker on 82 minutes. The win lifts Ahli to first in the table with 36 points, two ahead of Petrojet, who were temporarily first after beating Gaish on Friday. Masri remain 7th with 21 points. Masri tried to put Ahli under pressure from the start, but their efforts couldn't result in any real threat on Amir Abdul-Hamid's goal. In the 10th minute Ahli were given a penalty after Mohamed Hafez's late tackle on Mohamed Barakat. Barakat stepped up but was denied from putting his team up front when George Owu made the right guess and saved the Egyptian international's shot. Nine minutes later, Hafez gifted Ahli the lead by miscuing a header into his own net from Ahmed Fathi's cross.
The game's pace deteriorated after the goal as Masri looked helpless and it seemed that Ahli were more than happy to end the half with the one goal lead. At half-time, Ahli coach Manuel Jose brought on Gilberto for Sayed Moawad to revive the team's left flank. However, the Angolan's introduction didn't offer any improvement to the game. It wasn't until the 79th minute where the Red Devils showed a desire to extend their lead. A lovely move initiated by Barakat and Flavio Amado was ended with a Gilberto cross from the left. Hassan headed in Barakat's path but the latter's effort went over. Hassan made up for his lost chance three minutes later, when he added his team's second after a clever through pass from Flavio. Masri pulled a goal back few seconds after the restart thanks to a simple tap in from substitute Ibrahim Al-Hilali. Watch the game's goals:
