Masri maintained their fine run under coach Theo Buecker and widened the misery of second-bottom Mansoura with a 1-0 victory in the Egyptian Premier League on Wednesday. The Port Said-based club, who eased their relegation worries with a 1-0 win over Asyut Petroleum last week, beat another relegation-threatened side in Mansoura to extend their unbeaten run to three games. Lively playmaker Abdul-Salam Nagah, who has put in some impressive displays with Masri since joining in the January transfer window, scored the winner five minutes after the restart. He also found the net in the team's win over Asyut. Masri have suffered just one defeat in eight matches since German coach Buecker, who also had spells with Zamalek, Ittihad and Ismaili in Egypt, took over at the club late in January. They now lie ninth in the 16-team league table with 28 points, seven clear of the danger zone with seven matches remaining.
Ittihad overcome Mahalla Mansoura, who are 11 points adrift of safety, look destined to go down along with basement side Asyut. Geddo could not end his goal drought but Ittihad, who are also enjoying a revival under Brazilian manager Carlos Cabral, managed to make their domination count after defeating Ghazl Mahalla 1-0. The Egypt forward, who shook off an injury in time to take part in the game, was unlucky not to score in the second half when his low shot struck the post. Brazilian striker Giancarlo Mora, who scored just once after joining Ittihad in January, also hit the post with a free header. Mahalla defender Mohamed Al-Etrawi ended his side's resistance when he converted Ahmed Adel's cross into his own net six minutes past the hour mark. Ittihad, who got rid of their habit of fighting against relegation, are seventh in the table, five points behind fourth-placed Ismaili who have two games in hand.
