Ahli failed to beat Harras Hodoud for the third time this season after being held to a 1-1 draw by the struggling side in the Egyptian Premier League on Thursday. Egypt forward Ahmed Eid gave Hodoud the lead early in the game but Emad Meteb leveled the score seven minutes after the restart. Ahli had the upper hand in the second half but could not notch a decisive winner although the referee indicated eight minutes of injury time. Hodoud overcame Ahli to win the Super Cup last summer and held them to a 1-1 draw in Cairo in the reverse league fixture in August last year. Holders Ahli, who eye a sixth successive league crown, are still on top of the table with 39 points, seven ahead of second-placed Petrojet who have a game in hand. Hodoud, who won the Egyptian Cup last season but suffered a dip in form this term, climbed out of the relegation zone. They have 19 points, one ahead of third-bottom Gouna. Ekrami Start Goalkeeper Sherif Ekrami, who joined boyhood club Ahli from Gouna in January, surprisingly took Ahmed Adel's place between the sticks. He looked shaky though, flailing at thin air on several occasions in the first half. Striker Emad Meteb handed Ahli coach Hossam Al-Badri a major boost by making the starting line-up for the first time after returning from international duty in Angola, where he helped Egypt win the African Cup of Nations.
Hodoud's towering striker Ahmed Abdul-Ghani shook off an injury in time to feature in the game and make an early impact, setting up Eid for the opener after eight minutes. Abdul-Ghani, who appeared in an offside position in the build-up to the goal, sent in a low cross that caused havoc in the Ahli area before Eid pounced to fire a low shot past Ekrami. Two headers from Meteb and veteran midfielder Ahmed Hassan narrowly missed the target but Ahli still lacked creativity. With three defensive midfielders in the Red Devils' starting XI, Hodoud defense was not really troubled. Ahli began to unsettle Hodoud's backline when Afrotto, who scored twice in the 4-2 victory over Police Union after his second-half introduction, replaced ineffective striker Mohamed Fadl on 33 minutes with the hope of making a similar impact. Al-Badri further injected zeal when mercurial midfielder Mohamed Barakat came on instead of Shehab Ahmed after the break. The substitutions paid dividends in the 52nd minute when Meteb stole ahead of his marker to turn in Ahmed Fathi's cross at the near post. Hodoud defended in numbers afterwards and tried to hit Ahli on the break through the in-form Eid. Deep into injury time, Ahli's third substitute Mostafa Shebeita fired wide with the goal at his mercy after a lay-off from Afrotto.
