Ten-man Ahli were held to a 1-1 draw by Masri in Port Said on Wednesday in the Egyptian Premier League. Ahmed Hassan opened the scoring early in the second half, before Ahmed Osman canceled out the visitors' slender lead 16 minutes from time. Anwar Salama, a former Ahli player and coach, made his debut as Masri's boss in the game. Ahli, who missed influential playmaker Mohamed Abou-Treika and his understudy Amir Sayoud, were outnumbered for most of the match after Francis Doe was dismissed on 26 minutes. Mohamed Barakat was kept on the bench and came on right after the break to make a tangible impact. Hossam Al-Badri's side remain on top of the table with 11 points from three wins a two draws, while Masri are in 13th spot with four points. Straight Red Masri were looking for an early opener, but Ahli keeper Ahmed Adel rose to the challenge more than once. Ahli had the first scoring opportunity when Gilberto whipped in a cross that found an unmarked Doe, whose header went wide of the mark. Doe received a straight red card four minutes from the half-hour mark, after seemingly head-butting Ashour Al-Adham in the face, following a rough on-ball challenge. Al-Adham fell down in agony as the referee unhesitatingly sent off Doe, although television replays showed that the Liberian striker's assault was barely harmful. Ahli were evidently affected by their numerical disadvantage, and the hosts took control of the game in terms of ball possession.
Doe confronts Al-Adham Barakat replaced striker Hani Al-Egeizi, whose presence wasn't quite felt in the first period, to form the Cairo side's attack along with Ahmed Hassan. Ahmed Fawzi was about to put Masri ahead, but his cross-come-shot from the left wing hit the bar. The coastal outfit kept the upper hand for a while, but couldn't comprehensively threat their opposition. Headed Assist Ahli's Hassan broke the deadlock on 56 minutes after heading home Barakat's deft headed assist near the edge of the area. Versatile ace Barakat took advantage of Ahmed Al-Shenawi's attempt to intercept a long pass, to beat the advancing goalie to the ball and head it towards the in-form Hassan who made no mistake in front of the goal. Masri exerted more efforts to bring the score level, and the match's tempo was increasingly stepped up. Ibrahim Al-Hilali could have scored an equalizer when he went one-on-one with Adel from a tight angle, but the Ahli keeper blocked his effort. The Egyptian champions became dangerous on the counter attack, with the home side maintaining their onslaught. Masri reaped the dividends of their intensive attack in the 74th minute, when Osman headed an Ahmed Shedid cross into the net from point blank range, after Adel overshot the ball to mar his night. Salama's men had a set of clear-cut chances in the dying minutes, but Ahli managed to salvage a point.
