In the 13th week of the domestic football league, Ahli cemented their league lead. Ahmed Morsy reports After defeating Petrojet 2-0, defending champions Ahli stretched their lead at the top of the Egyptian league standings, now three points ahead of second place Al-Gaish. It was the third consecutive defeat for Petrojet who remain in third place with 25 points. Ahli, with 30 points, still have a game in hand against Baladeyet Mehalla. Petrojet are the league's top scoring team with 29 goals in 13 matches. Their striker Alaa Ibrahim is the league's most deadly marksman with 11 goals. But against Ahli the firepower went flat especially after Ibrahim was forced to leave the game early because of injury. In the 24th minute defender Emad El-Nahhas broke the deadlock with a header when he converted Gilberto's corner into the back of the net. Less than a minute later, Angolan striker Flavio Amado, whose header was denied by the woodwork at the beginning of the game, doubled the lead with an excellent chip ball from outside the area. In the second half Petrojet countered if nothing else than to prevent Ahli from scoring a third goal. Petrojet goalkeeper Ibrahim Abdel-Gawad managed to save his team from an embarrassing third goal more than once. In the last 15 minutes of the game Ahli striker Emad Meteb was inserted to help inflict more damage. By then, though, the spark had left the game, as Ahli were content to let the minutes go by. The 14th week of the national league begins tomorrow with Al-Gaish clashing with Ahli in a battle for first place while Misri host Ittihad and Haras Al-Hodoud meet Ismaili. Spinning Mehalla face Baladeyet Mehalla in a heated derby while Suez Cement take on Enppi. On Friday Zamalek host Egypt Telecom, Arab Contractors tackle Petrojet and Tersana go head to head with Aluminium. In other news, Zamalek strongly criticised Ahli coach Manuel Jose's criticism of the club following Ahli's 3-0 victory over Aluminium. Jose was responding to his critics when he pointed out to what he believed was Zamalek's failure to promote young talent to the first team. Zamalek, Ahli's arch-rivals, were outraged by the remarks, saying the Portuguese should mind his own business. "Jose's irresponsible comments could worsen the relationship between such big clubs," a Zamalek board member told the club's website on Sunday. "He needlessly mentioned Zamalek in what he was saying, something that triggered the anger of our fans. "This is not the first time Jose ignores sportsmanship and football code of ethics. He criticised several teams and managers before," the board member, who was not identified, added. He called on the 61-year-old manager to concentrate more on Ahli than commenting on other teams. In the Arab Champions League group stage, once again Al-Gaish failed to win on home soil after being held to a goalless draw by USM Algiers on Monday in the second round. Al-Gaish had lost to Syria's Taleah 2-1 in the first round in Cairo and now have just a single point from two matches. USM Algiers had more chances as the post rejected a fireball to keep the game goalless. With just one home game remaining and three away matches, Al-Gaish need close to a miracle to reach the semi-finals.
