Petrojet could find it difficult to fulfill their vow of fighting Ahli all the way as they lost ground on the Egyptian Premier League leaders after suffering a surprise 3-1 defeat to Military production on Thursday. Coach Mokhtar Mokhtar said more than once his side were determined to give up their habit of excelling in the first half of the season before faltering after the halfway stage. But it seems Petrojet would not be able to mount serious challenge for the title after stumbling against an in-form Production side, who needed six minutes to take the lead. Mohamed Zaki fired home from inside the area after being set-up by strike partner Abou Kone, who is expected to join Zamalek next summer. An own goal by Petrojet midfielder Kamal Ali few seconds later doubled Production's advantage and left the visitors with an uphill to climb. Ivorian striker Abou Kone put the result beyond doubt one minute after the restart with a delicate chip.
Ismaili too strong for Ittihad Ghanaian attacking midfielder Cofie Bekoe notched a consolation for Petrojet with 10 minutes remaining. Petrojet slipped to third spot in the league table with 35 points, eight behind title holders Ahli. Ismaili capitalized on Petrojet's stumble to climb to second with a 3-0 defeat of Ittihad to ease the pressure on beleaguered coach Emad Soliman. They had to do without Egypt keeper Essam Al-Hadari, who fell out with the club for not receiving his dues, for the second consecutive game but Mohamed Sobhi admirably filled in for him. Playmaker Abdullah Saied opened the scoring with a superb free kick on 33 minutes and striker Ahmed Ali, who rediscovered his scoring touch after a barren spell, scored twice to help Ismaili snap a three-match winless streak. The Dervishes, who opted to keep faith with Soliman despite their inconsistent form, are seven points adrift of Ahli.
