Ahli condemned a 10-man Wadi Degla to a 2-1 loss on Monday to close to within one point of league leaders Zamalek. Dominique Da Silva put in one of his finest performances in the match. Ahli youngster Ahmed Nabil 'Manga' opened the scoring only after six minutes but the hosts' Abdul-Fattah Al-Agha brought the score level 10 minutes later. Da Silva fired Ahli upfront once again when he netted his first goal in the Egyptian Premier League on the stroke of halftime. Degla played for over an hour with ten men after keeper Haytham Mohamed was dismissed. Title holders Ahli are in second place with 42 points, one behind their arch-rivals Zamalek who have been topping the league table for months. Stuttering Defending Both sides exchanged half-chances in the early minutes of the game before Ahli managed to take the lead, thanks to Degla's stuttering defending. Moataz Eno sent a long pass towards an unopposed Da Silva but Degla goalkeeper Mohamed won the race to the ball to clear the danger, but only for few seconds. Mohamed's deflected clearance found Manga who had no trouble slotting into an empty net from outside the area. Syrian striker Al-Agha hit the equalizer when he came unmarked to broke the offside trap and latch onto a diagonal cross. His first poor effort hit the post before he scored on the rebound. On 23 minutes, Da Silva went one-on-one with the keeper after Geddo stole the ball from a challenger near the center and released the Senegalese ace, who failed to convert the golden chance. Da Silva tried to chip the ball over the goalie, who competently parried his shot before Geddo agonizingly saw his low follow-up effort go inches past the woodwork. Degla shot-stopper Mohamed was sent off five minutes past the half-hour mark for deliberately handling the ball out outside the area as Da Silva again tried to lift the ball over his head. Guardian Rami Serag replaced Ahmed Mekki to stand between the sticks before Ahmed Fahti took the set piece to see his inaccurate free kick pose no threat. Da Silva regained Ahli's slender lead with a powerful shot that touched the palms of Serag before settling into the net in injury time. Eventless Second Half The second half was by far eventless, with both teams unable to show goal menace. Sayed Moawad, who have been kept on the sidelines over the past weeks for no apparent reason, replaced Ayman Ashraf. His introduction evidently injected zeal. Left winger Moawad whipped in a cross that was headed away by the in-form Da Silva four minutes past the hour mark. Degla's Mostafa Talaat tried his luck from distance shortly afterwards only to see his fierce drive punched by Ahli custodian Ahmed Adel. Da Silva could have hit a sensational goal 20 minutes from time when he dribbled past a couple of challengers and tried to feint the keeper too but the latter thwarted him.
