Ahli outplayed ten-man Ismail on Saturday but failed to claim all three points after the Dervishes struggled to end the Egyptian Premier League game in a 1-1 draw. Ismail's Ahmed Sedik broke the deadlock after 17 minutes, but Mostafa Shebeita restored parity late in the first half. The home side were outnumbered for more than half an hour after Moatasem Salem was dismissed nearly on the hour mark. Defending champions Ahli are now four points clear on top of the league table, while fourth-placed Ismaili are on 23 points, trailing the leaders by six. Ahli had to do without several regular figures in midfield trio Mohamed Abou-Treika, Mohamed Barakat and Moataz Eno who were all out through injury. On the other hand, Red Devils' frontline duo Emad Meteb and Francis Doe made their return after shaking off respective injuries. Neither the home nor the away fans made any troubles throughout the match. Several prominent figures watched the game from the stands, including Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak's younger son Alaa Mubarak and Egypt coach Hassan Shehata. Days ago, Ahli and Ismaili chairmen Hassan Hamdi and Nasr Aboul-Hassan called on fans to behave well in Saturday's game. Ahli also drew with Zamalek and Ittihad in their previous league games, thanks to the unavailability of a number of their regular figures. Exciting Start The match witnessed and exciting start, with hosts Ismaili coming on with all guns blazing, looking to open the scoring in the early minutes. The Dervishes kept the upper hand for quite a while, with Ahli's fringe players clearly unable to cope with the opposition onslaught.
Ismaili could have netted an opener only after two minutes when Ahmed Samir Farag whipped in a cross that was met by Abdullah Al-Saied, who failed to divert the ball into the net. Ahli midfielder Abdullah Farouk was adjudged to have tackled Ahmed Ali in the area on 17 minutes, although instant replays proved that the latter theatrically dived. Sedik converted the spot kick to put Ismaili ahead and set the game alight. Ahli were revitalized later on and sought to cancel out the coastal side's slender lead. Meteb was close to leveling the score but his drive was amazingly blocked by Al-Hadari, who also parried Mohamed Fadl's follow-up effort from point-blank range. Shebeita hit the equalizer on the stroke of halftime with a precise shot from outside the area. Pressure After the break, Ahli by far tightened their grip on the game and piled up pressure upfront, looking to take the lead. Ahli striker Doe replaced off-form hitman Mohamed Fadl, to intensify the visitors' attack. The Cairo giants increased their domination after Ismaili defender Salem was sent off for two bookable offences either side of the interval. Meteb was about to put Ahli ahead, but his close-range shot hit the crossbar. Ahli kept trying to capitalize on their opponents' numerical disadvantage and carved out a number of chances. Ismaili became dangerous on the counter attack. The dying minutes were full of action but no goals were scored.
