Ahly survive Smouha scare to continue race

Ahly continued their race with Harras El-Hodoud at the top of the Egyptian Premier League after two second-half goals gave them a 3-1 home win over 10-man Smouha on Saturday. Playmaker Abdallah El-Saied scored his fourth goal of the season to put Ahly in front after 19 minutes but Smouha’s Ghanaian forward Samuel Affum, who scored twice in his side’s 2-1 win over Ismaily, equalized with a brilliant strike just before the break. Veteran playmaker Mohamed Abou-Treika, who came on as a second-half substitute, converted a controversial penalty in the second half and matters went from bad to worse for Smouha when Tarek Hamed was sent off in the 77th minute for a second bookable offense. Forward Mohamed Nagy “Geddo”, who had been a largely peripheral figure, notched home two minutes from time as Ahly claimed all three points to make up for their disappointing 1-1 draw with El-Entag El-Harby which denied them the chance to move top. Surprise package Harras El-Hodoud, who crushed Petrojet 3-0 earlier in the day, remain on top of the table with 31 points, one ahead of Ahly. Zamalek, who face Ittihad of Alexandria on Sunday, are third on 26 points. Smouha, whose victory over Ismaily was their first under former Egypt coach Shawky Gharib, lie fourth from bottom with 10 points. El-Saied opened the scoring after 19 minutes following a superb individual effort. Gathering the ball on the left, he raced into the area before turning his marker inside out to send a left-foot shot that squirmed under Palestinian keeper Ramzi Saleh and into the net. Playing with ten men behind the ball for most of the first half, Smouha allowed Ahly to control possession but the hosts struggled to create genuine goal-scoring opportunities. The lively El-Saied came close to doubling Ahly’s lead on 27 minutes when a poor defensive clearance fell to him but his volley from just inside the area narrowly missed the target. In a rare foray, Smouha levelled the score against the run of play two minutes before the break, thanks to a touch of magic from the in-form Affum. Controlling a pass with his back to goal on the edge of the area, he tricked marker Wael Gomaa before unleashing a curling right-foot shot from a tight angle that went into the far corner of the net. A sluggish Ahly display, with attacking duo Geddo and Brazilian Fabio Junior failing to make their presence felt upfront, helped Smouha remain steadfast at the back in the early stages of the second half. However, Ahly were awarded a controversial penalty on 71 minutes when Gedo and El-Saied both fell to the ground after exchanging passes in the area. The referee pointed to the spot but it was not clear whether either of them was fouled. Spot-kick specialist Abou-Treika, who replaced Mohamed Barakat after the break, sent the keeper the wrong way with a low shot to put Ahly 2-0 up. Smouha wasted a chance to equalize few minutes later when a low shot by ex-Ahly striker Hani El-Egeizy went just wide but their cause was not helped by the dismissal of Hamed for a wild tackle on left-back Ahmed Shedid. Geddo put the result beyond doubt with two minutes remaining when a smart move saw him escape his marker to fire home from close range after connecting with a low cross from midfielder Shehab Ahmed.   ahramonline .