Ahly's football director, Wael Gomaa (Reuters)
Ahly football director was relieved following a 2-0 Cairo derby win over Zamalek that he believes provided the best answer to insults directed against his club's chairman from Zamalek counterpart Mortada Mansour.
Outspoken lawyer Mansour was his usual firebrand self when he launched a scathing attack on Ahly counterpart Mahmoud Taher for allowing the Red Devils' hardcore supporters to attend a training session two days before the anticipated derby.
In a foul-mouthed outburst, Mansour, who is hated by the die-hard supporters of Ahly and Zamalek alike, accused Taher of allowing the fans to "terrorise citizens". He also insulted him in a phone interview with a television channel.
"Tonight's win restored the dignity of our chairman," Ahly's football director Wael Gomaa, a rock-solid defender who helped the club win a host of trophies until his retirement in the summer of 2014, said in a brief television interview following Tuesday's clash.
Moemen Zakareya haunted his former club with a well-taken double as Ahly put Zamalek's Egyptian Premier League title celebrations on hold with a 2-0 victory that helped him extend their unbeaten run against their Cairo foes to 20 matches.
The 27-year-old, who joined Ahly after leaving Zamalek last January, opened the scoring on 31 minutes with a superb shot from inside the area before ensuring the win with a beautifully-taken free kick nine minutes from time.
Ahly have not been defeated by their cross-town rivals since slumping to a 2-0 league defeat in 2007 after they had already won the title, winning 11 matches and drawing nine since then.
Zamalek needed at least a draw to win a league title that has eluded them since the last of their 11 triumphs in 2004 but looked a pale shadow of the powerful side that have tormented the majority of opponents this term.
They are still overwhelming favourites to win the title as they need only one point from their remaining two games against El-Geish and Wadi Degla.
Ahly, who are now six points behind Zamalek, will cause a huge upset should they win their last two games and Zamalek lose theirs. In this case, they will pip their rivals to the title virtue of a better head-to-head record after the previous derby in January ended in a 1-1 draw.
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