An Ittihad board member hinted that coach Carlos Cabral could be reprieved despite an embarrassing 6-3 defeat by Military Production on Friday. The Brazilian tactician has already come under fire for Ittihad's poor Egyptian Premier League run and reports suggest the team's humiliating loss to Production could seal his fate. However, board member Sherif Al-Helw leapt to the defense of the former Zamalek manager. "The board did not make any decisions after the defeat against Production, we don't want to be rash," he told FilGoal.com. 'We should not hold him accountable for a result of one game. People should not forget that we have just defeated Gouna (in Ittihad's previous game)." Cabral was appointed as Ittihad's coach in September last year to help them stave off relegation worries. He turned around their fortunes to help them finish tenth in the 16-team league table. The Alexandria-based club extended the 65-year-old's contract last April but a poor start to the season prompted Ittihad fans, who jeered their own team during the defeat by Production, to call for his sacking. "I hope that people would stand by him," Al-Helw added. Ittihad, who are Alexandria's most popular club despite failing to win the league since the competition's inauguration in 1948, are third from bottom in the table with six points from seven games.
