Petrojet leapfrogged Ismaili, who failed to take heart from Essam Al-Hadari's return, into second place with a 3-1 away victory in the Egyptian Premier League on Thursday. Ismaili, who played a game less than leaders Ahli, squandered the chance to close to within five points of their bitter rivals. Petrojet have 32 points from 17 games, seven behind Ahli who played 18 matches. Ismaili, who finished runners up to Ahli last season, lie third with 31 points from 17 games. Veteran goalkeeper Essam Al-Hadari played his first match with Ismaili after helping Egypt win the African Cup of Nations title last month. He missed the previous league game against Mansoura due to a dispute with Ismaili's board. However, he could not prevent Petrojet from opening the scoring on the quarter-hour mark. Right-back Ahmed Sedik was dispossessed by Petrojet winger Osama Hassan, who whipped in a pinpoint cross for Ghanaian attacking midfielder Cofie Bekoe to rise unmarked and head home. The hosts almost leveled the score few minutes when playmaker Abdullah Saied, who was the only Ismaili player to put in a fine display, rattled the bar with a fierce shot from the edge of the area. Ismaili's Ivorian forward Abdoulaye Coulibaly, who joined the team in the January transfer window, started the game but was replaced with skipper Mohamed Hommos on 33 minutes after a disappointing debut. Petrojet then took control and punished Ismaili for their woeful defending to double their advantage in the 52nd minute. Egypt's deep-lying forward Al-Sayed Hamdi latched onto a through pass to break clear of defense and drill the ball past Al-Hadari. Saied gave Ismaili a lifeline with a superb curling free-kick ten minutes from time but playmaker Walid Soliman ensured Petrojet's win when he rounded off a swift counter attack in stoppage time.
