Ismaili blew the title race wide open with a 1-0 victory over a depleted Ahli side at Cairo Stadium in the Egyptian Premier League on Thursday. Mohsen Abou-Greisha's header four minutes after the restart gave Ismaili precious three points in their quest to dethrone Ahli, who are looking to win a fifth consecutive league title. It was his first goal since returning to Ismaili last month after an unsuccessful spell with Chinese side Zhejiang Lucheng. Ahli's Angolan striker Flavio wasted a second-half penalty as Ismaili held onto their slender lead to avenge their 1-0 defeat to the Red Devils in the league's first half. The win moved Ismaili into second place on 38 points, just two behind leaders Ahli, who still have a game in hand. Ahli Backups Palestinian keeper Ramzi Saleh made his league debut as Manuel Jose opted to field him instead of the error-prone Abdul-Hamid. Abdul-Hamid's dreadful blunders helped Petrojet hold Ahli to a 2-2 draw on Sunday. Natural central defender Mohamed Samir played in the heart of Ahli's midfield to partner Moataz Eno as the Cairo giants missed a host of key players. The likes of Ahmed Fathi, Ahmed Hassan, Hossam Ashour and Hussein Ali were all absent due to injuries and suspensions. Versatile midfielder Mohamed Barakat played as a playmaker instead of the injured Mohamed Abou-Treika. Ahli's midfield back-ups did not rise to the occasion in the first-half as Ismaili took firm control and were unlucky not to open the scoring. Saleh superbly tipped a deflected Omar Gamal shot in the 30th minute while Ahmed Samir Farag's volley two minutes later narrowly missed the target. Abou-Greisha wasted a golden opportunity to put Ismaili ahead on 33 minutes.
Jose substitutions did not make impact He escaped his marker Wael Gomaa to control Gamal's superb defense-splitting pass and go one-on-one with Saleh but he dragged his shot wide of the post. Ahli's only chance fell to Barakat six minutes before the break. Osama Hosni's long pass was inadvertently deflected by Dario Khan's header into the path of the unmarked Barakat inside the area but he astonishingly shot wide with the goal at his mercy. Poor Defense Ahli's poor defense once again cost them as Ismaili's skilful forwards found no difficulty in exposing them many times during the second period. Abou-Greisha made up for his first-half's miss in the 49th minute to silence the home crowd. The towering striker rose unmarked to head home Gamal's pinpoint cross from the left. Despite falling behind to Abou-Greisha's goal, Ahli did not push forward and rarely tested Ismaili keeper Mohamed Sobhi. Jose introduced full-backs Sayed Moawad and Ahmed Ali but his substitutions were to no avail. Ahli still had a chance to claim a barely deserved equalizer when Barakat was kicked in stomach by Ismaili's Ahmed Khairi, whose neat passes bothered Ahli's defense throughout the game. The referee immediately pointed to the spot eight minutes from time. Flavio stepped-up but his fierce shot crashed off the bar as Ahli missed out on the chance of securing a share of spoils. Ismaili then squandered two clear-cut opportunities from Mostafa Karim and Omar Gamal but they still managed to settle the tie in their favor. Watch Abou-Greisha's goal and Flavio's penalty
