Champions Ahly preserve unbeaten run with late goal in 1-1 draw with Masry
Ahram Online , Tuesday 4 Jul 2017


A late goal from playmaker Saleh Gomaa preserved the unbeaten run of Egyptian Premier League champions Ahly as they drew 1-1 with Masry in the penultimate match of the season on Tuesday.

Gomaa, who has been given a new lease of life recently, pounced on a defensive mistake to secure a share of spoils with an 86th-minute goal.

Seven minutes earlier, Mohamed El-Shamy made the most of Masry's first real chance to beat the offside trap and notch home with aplomb as Ahly seemed close to conceding their first defeat of the season.

The Red Devils wrapped up their second straight title with four matches to spare following a 2-2 draw with nearest challengers Maqassa in late May.

They will face arch rivals Zamalek in the Cairo derby in their final match of the season next week.

Ahly played against Masry with a second-string side, resting their key players ahead of a crucial African Champions League clash at home to Cameroon's Coton Sport on Saturday.

Neither side were able to mount real threats as they were restricted to some half-chances for most of the game.

Ahly's left-back Hussein El-Sayed went closest to scoring eight minutes before the break when he shot just over the bar from inside the area after bamboozling a couple of defenders with a catchy feint.

Both sides tried their luck from distance on several occasions in the second half but the two goalkeepers easily dealt with the tame efforts.

El-Shamy broke the deadlock on 79 minutes when he ghosted behind right-back Mohamed Hani to latch onto a through pass and send a delicate chip over the advancing keeper and into the net.

But Gomaa had the last laugh, making a superb sliding tackle to rob a Masry defender and fire a low shot into the bottom corner.

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