Ahli labored to a 2-0 win over a poor MC Alger side in the CAF Champions League group stage, thanks Emad Meteb's-half brace. Meteb scored two well-taken goals on 10 and 31 minutes to give the Egyptian champions their first win in three games in Group B. Ahli move to second temporarily leveling on four points with Wydad Casablanca and Esperance, who will meet in Morocco on Saturday. Meteb's half Manuel Jose made significant changes to his usual back three, with Sherif Abdul-Fadil moving from sweeper to center-half beside Wael Gomaa, while youngster Rami Rabiea started as the last man. The visitors had to withstand a spell of heavy pressure early on and their defense didn't seem to be holding on for long. The opener came after just ten minutes when Mohamed Abou-Treika combined well with Meteb, who applied the simplest of finishes to head in the former's pinpoint cross from close range. Ahli remained in charge of play while the Algerians hardly threatened the goal of Ahmed Adel, who only moved a muscle to thwart Zineddine Bensalem's ambitious freekick.
Fabio Junior made his debut An unmarked Ahmed Fathi should have doubled Ahli's lead on 20 minutes but his flying header went way above the bar as the second goal was looming. Once again Meteb was at the center of a terrific team move, this time exchanging passes with Fathi, who sent in a low ball back to the Egypt striker to dispatch past the hapless keeper from 12 yards. Poor Alger seemed relatively better after the break while Ahli did not show any intention of increasing their two-goal lead. However, the Algerians' finishing was anything but efficient and Adel only had to watch a couple of shots past his posts. Jose looked increasingly irritated on the touchline as his side gave away possession so cheaply on many occasions, prompting him to bring in Hossam Ashour as an additional man in midfield at the expense of Abou-Treika. The Reds' first attempt on target came as late as the 78th minute when Sayed Moawad's effort was parried by Billel Slimani. A few minutes later, Ahli's summer recruit Fabio Junior came on for his debut to replace Meteb, who hardly touched the ball after the his first-half brace. The Brazilian Fabio Junior looked active and was unlucky to see his long-range drive going inches wide of Slimani's right post, in what could have been a dream debut.
