Ahli coasted to a 2-0 home victory over Arab Contractors but the league strugglers had keeper Mahmoud Aboul-Saoud, on loan from the Reds, to thank for saving them from an embarrassing defeat. Geddo broke the deadlock on 32 minutes as right-back Ahmed Fathi doubled the lead from the spot in the 57th minute. The home side had defender Ahmed Al-Sayed sent off one minute before the end of regular time for a professional foul. Ahli move top of the league table with 36 points, two more than Harras Hodoud who will meet Ittihad in midweek. Ahli V Aboul-Saoud Ahli were by far the dominant side over the two halves as goalkeeper Aboul-Saoud, who just left on loan to Contractors, had a point to prove to Manuel Jose. Aboul-Saoud made a full-stretch save to stop Abdullah Al-Saied's powerful free kick on 13 minutes, before blocking Dominique da Silva's close-range effort. But he could do nothing to stop Geddo, who latched onto an incisive through pass from Dominique to slide home past the hapless keeper. The second half was action-less until Ahli were awarded a penalty 12 minutes past the interval after a defender allegedly shoved Al-Sayed Hamdi inside the area. Aboul-Saoud could have denied Fathi's poor spot kick as he had a hand on the ball, only to convert it into the roof of the net. But the former Mansoura keeper still managed to frustrate his parent club again when he thwarted Geddo's one-on-one effort before denying substitute Mohamed Abou-Treika from adding one more goal. Ahli defender Al-Sayed was lucky not to concede a soft penalty after replays showed he had pulled the shirt of Mohamed Salah, only for referee Medhat Abdul-Aziz to book the Contractors striker for simulation. But Abdul-Aziz decided to send Al-Sayed off for a professional foul late in the game, even though the challenge on Salah seemed to be more serious.
