A depleted Ahly side maintained their fine run under coach Fathi Mabrouk after two second-half goals gave them a 2-0 victory over Maqassa on Wednesday which put them in pole position to finish as runners up in the Egyptian Premier League.

The Red Devils, missing a host of key players through injuries and suspensions, conceded that it's difficult to catch runaway leaders and arch-rivals Zamalek but there is still the second place to play for as it earns qualification for the prestigious African Champions League.

Striker Ahmed Abdel-Zaher, who was guilty of wasting a golden chance earlier, broke the deadlock nine minutes past the hour mark and substitute Islam Roshdi, making a rare appearance, added a late second.

Ahly, who had to do without the likes of skipper Hossam Ghaly and influential midfielder Mahmoud Trezeguet among others, secured their fourth win out of five league matches under Mabrouk, who took over following the sacking of Spaniard Juan Garrido last month.

They lie third in the league table with 64 points, behind second-placed ENPPI on goal difference but the latter, who defeated Masry 3-1, played three extra matches.

Zamalek, who are on top with 70 points, can restore their nine-point advantage over Ahly if they beat already-relegated Damanhour later in the day.

Shaky backline

Ahly failed to exploit the gaps in Maqassa's shaky backline, which looked porous throughout the 90 minutes, in the first half as a lack of cutting edge let them down on a number of occasions.

Ramadan Sobhi, a 17-year-old playmaker who made his Egypt debut in the 3-0 win over Tanzania in their opening African Cup of Nations qualifier, was Ahly's liveliest performer, with his defence-splitting passes and forays down the left causing constant menace to Maqassa's defence.

One of his diagonal passes found fellow youngster Karim Bambo at the far post after 13 minutes but his snap shot was blocked by the Maqasssa keeper. Bambo was substituted seven minutes later after picking up an injury.

Midfielder Mohamed Rezk, who replaced Bambo, almost scored with his first touch after a Maqassa defender was robbed on the edge of his own area but his curling shot narrowly missed the target.

Ahly's best chance fell to Abdel-Zaher on 33 minutes, with the towering striker missing an open net after Sobhi beat the offside trap and squared the ball to him.

Maqassa had some tame efforts, including a free-kick which went just wide on the stroke of halftime but Ahly remained in control after the break, squandering further clear-cut chances.

A mistake from Maqassa's guardian Mahmoud Hamdi allowed Sobhi to break through on 57 minutes but he blasted his shot over the bar with the goal at his mercy.

The pressure finally paid dividends on 69 minutes when Hamdi's poor attempt to claw away a flick from Ahly's central defender Saad Samir found the unmarked Abdel-Zaher who headed home into an empty net.

Roshdi wrapped up the win four minutes from time when with a low shot beyond the keeper at the far post after finishing off a flowing move.

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