Substitutes Sayed Moawad and Osama Hosni combined to help Ahli defeat Telecom Egypt 2-1 on Thursday and close in on a fifth consecutive Egyptian Premier League title. Mohamed Barakat's early opener for Ahli was cancelled out by Sherif Omar's strike midway through the first half. Stand-in striker Hosni, who came on as a second half substitute, connected with a precise cross from fellow benchwarmer Moawad 17 minutes from time to give Ahli all three points. Ahli remain on top of the table with 51 points, three ahead of second-placed Ismaili, who played a game more, with five matches remaining. Third-bottom Telecom, who claimed their first win under coach Hossam Hassan when they beat Olympic 2-0 last week, missed out on the chance of easing their relegation fears. They would have leapfrogged Asyut Petroleum, who are in the safety zone and have a two-point advantage over them, if they overcame Ahli. Early Lead Ahli needed two minutes to grab the lead as they looked on a course for a comfortable win. Flavio, who played as a lone striker, threaded a pass through for mercurial midfielder Barakat whose low shot deflected off a defender's legs to go over Amir Tawfik's head and into the net. The hosts eased off after scoring the opener to allow Telecom to launch attacking waves.
The pacey runs of energetic midfielder Wael Riad caused Ahli's three-man defense all sorts of problems. Telecom's attacking efforts paid dividends on 24 minutes as midfielder Omar scored his second goal of the season to restore parity. Defender Mohamed Samir, who deputized for the suspended Ahmed Al-Sayed, poorly cleared a Riad cross and Omar pounced to send a half-volley past Palestinian keeper Ramzi Saleh. Barakat almost restored Ahli's advantage four minutes before the break when he was released by a deft pass to go clear on goal but Tafwik rushed out to block his effort. Fruitful Substitutions Ahli coach Manuel Jose introduced Moawad instead of the out-of-form Gilberto and replaced star playmaker Mohamed Abou-Treika, who wasn't at his best, with Hosni. Hosni squandered a golden opportunity to put Ahli in front on 70 minutes when he failed to direct a free header goalwards. He made amends three minutes later when he rose above his marker to head home Moawad's left-wing cross from close range. Telecom pushed forward in search of the equalizer but their efforts went in vain as Ahli secured a third successive win. The match's goals
