Ahli evaded another upset from lowly Smouha by claiming a 3-1 victory over the Alexandrians in Cairo. A first-half stalemate saw the in-form Abdullah Al-Saied give Ahli the lead before Ghanaian striker Samuel Affum grabbed an equalizer for Smouha with his fifth goal in as many games. Smouha, who managed to frustrate the champions to two draws in their first top-flight campaign despite finishing bottom of the league last term , seemed to be going for another upset at Cairo Stadium. But the Reds were awarded a dubious penalty that was successfully converted by Mohamed Abou-Treika on 73 minutes, with Geddo ensuring the victory near the end. Ahli remained second with one point separating them from leaders Harras Hodoud, who scored their 10th straight win over Petrojet earlier on Saturday. Al-Saied's impact Ahli were inspired by a virtuoso first-half performance from Al-Saied, who once again used his individual brilliance to score the opener for the Reds after 19 minutes. A few minutes later, the on-fire Ahli midfielder could have bagged his brace, only to see his powerful volley go inches wide. Ahli remained in charge but strikers Fabio Junior and Geddo seemed to be chalk and cheese upfront as no real threat was posed on Ramzi Saleh's goal. Against the run of the play, Ghanaian striker Affum stunned the Cairo Stadium fans with a superb strike after twisting and turning to avoid the attentions of Wael Gomaa before firing home from an impossible angle. Penalty? Ahli boss Manuel Jose replaced Mohamed Shawky by Shehab Ahmed at half time before switching formation to 4-4-2 by introducing Abou-Treika for Mohamed Barakat on the hour mark. Treika made the difference by dispatching his third penalty this season after Al-Saied had gone down theatrically in the area, with referee Mohamed Abbas controversially pointing to the spot. Midfielder Tarek Hamed was cautioned in the process and four minutes later, he received his marching orders with a second booking. After surviving two genuine goalscoring opportunities from ex-striker Hani Al-Egeizi, Ahli were lucky to get another goal, with Geddo converting home a fine finish after some good work by Shehab from the right.
