Defending champions Ahly climbed to the top of the Egyptian Premier League table for the first time this season following a narrow 2-1 victory over Ittihad of Alexandria at Cairo Stadium as newly appointed coach Jess Thorup enjoyed a winning domestic debut.
Ahly now lead the table with 21 points from 10 games, three points clear of second-placed Masry, who are set to host Smouha later on Wednesday.
Moroccan winger Achraf Bencharki gave Ahly an early lead just after the 15-minute mark, before Ahmed ‘Zizo’ Sayed doubled the advantage by converting a penalty in the 62nd minute. Ittihad’s striker Fadi Farid pulled one back six minutes later.
Both sides finished the match with 10 men after Ahly’s Ahmed Nabil and Ittihad’s Karim El-Dib were sent off in the 78th and 86th minutes respectively.
Ahly showed their intent from the start, with Zizo narrowly missing an early chance in the second minute.
Mahmoud ‘Trezeguet’ Hassan then hit the crossbar with a curling effort in the 11th minute.
Bencharki opened the scoring in the 19th minute, expertly controlling a cross from Zizo before firing a powerful shot into the net.
Ittihad came close to equalizing six minutes later, but Mostafa Ibrahim’s glancing header was brilliantly saved by Ahly goalkeeper Mohamed El-Shennawi.
The Alexandria-based side pressed on but squandered several opportunities, including chances by Favor Akim and Fadi Farid.
In the second half, Ahly sought to secure their lead and were awarded a penalty in the 59th minute after the ball struck an Ittihad defender’s hand inside the area. Zizo converted the spot-kick to make it 2-0.
Ittihad responded quickly, with Farid capitalizing on a back pass from Akim to reduce the deficit in the 68th minute.
Farid’s goal marked his third this season, accounting for half of his team’s six goals in 11 games.
Zizo had a chance to seal the match in the 73rd minute but was denied by the Ittihad goalkeeper.
Ahly’s Ahmed Nabil was shown a second yellow card for a foul on Akim in the 78th minute, and Ittihad captain El-Dib was similarly dismissed six minutes later.
Despite Ittihad’s efforts to find an equalizer, Ahly held firm to secure their fifth consecutive league win and the first under Danish coach Thorup.
Thorup began his tenure with Ahly last Saturday, guiding the team to a 1-0 away victory over Aigle Noir of Burundi in the first leg of the CAF Champions League second preliminary round. The second leg is scheduled for Saturday 25 October in Cairo.
Source: Al-Ahram Online
