Ahli secured a sensational 2-2 draw with Asyut Petroleum in the Egyptian Premier league on Monday, even though the defending champions played with ten men for most of the game. Flavio Amado opened the scoring on 12 minutes, and Wael Gomaa netted an own goal a couple of minutes from half-time. Henry Akile scored Asyut's second right before the interval, and Ahmed Hassan notched a leveller for Ahli on 79 minutes. Ahli, who failed to win for the third successive match, remain on top with 41 points, only three ahead of second-placed Ismaili. Asyut are currently ninth with 25 points, leading Zamalek, who now lie 10th, by a sole point. One-Goal Deficit After a cagey start from both sides, the game turned into an eventful affair that saw Asyut overturn a one-goal deficit. Ramzi Saleh, who was deputizing in Amir Abdul-Hamid's absence for the second match running, parried a powerful long-range free-kick on 11 minutes. Flavio broke the deadlock after heading Gilberto's pinpoint free-kick from the right flank in one of the pair's much-repeated set-pieces. The Red Devils took a stranglehold on the game for a short while after taking the lead. But their dominance notably diminished when defender Ahmed Ali received his marching orders on 27 minutes for a second bookable offense. Ahli's numerical disadvantage abysmally affected their performance, and the hosts got the upper hand shortly after Ali's dismissal. Saleh saved Sherif Nawareg's fierce shot on 33 minutes, but the petroleum side kept on looking for an equalizer. Seconds later, the referee disallowed an Asyut goal, when Sayed Abdul-Moghni's indirect free-kick landed into the net without any interference.
Flavio and Hassan Three minutes from time, Hani Abdullah wasted a golden chance to bring the score level when his close-range follow-up effort drifted well wide of the mark. Petroleum Lead Later on Nawareg whipped in a left-wing cross, and Ahli defender Gomaa's awkward headed clearance ended in the Cairo side's goal to cancel out their slender lead. In the first period's dying minutes, the Petroleum side tightened their grip on the game, piling up pressure upfront. Akile notched a last-minute goal when he headed Salah Ashour's precise cross, to leave Saleh bemoaning. After the interval, the home side remained in charge, while an outnumbered Ahli failed to get their act together for quite a while. The majority of Asyut's scoring attempts were wide-range shots, but the fully-fit Saleh saved his net on more than one occasion. Hassan Equalizer Manuel jose's side, who sorely missed influential duo Mohamed Barakat and Mohamed Abou-Treika, couldn't threaten Asyut till Hassan scored an equalizer. Hassan ended an Ahli counter attack with a superb clinical finish to revive the African champions once again. In the next minute, Gilberto was about to score Ahli's third, but his drive hit the post. The last minutes of the game were clearly ill-tempered, with both sides trying in vain to clinch a victory. Hassan was close to hit a last-gasp winner for Ahli when he headed Gilberto's free-kick, but Mostafa Kamal denied his effort with great dexterity. Watch the goals
