In a sombre mood, defending champions Ahly came from behind to beat Maqassa 2-1 at Cairo Stadium on Friday and maintain their unbeaten start to the Egyptian Premier League.

Ultras Ahlawy, the team’s core of die-hard fans and a principal component of protests against police and army abuses, wore black shirts and unfurled a giant banner to mourn the death of one of their members following the recent clampdown on protesters by the Egyptian army in downtown Cairo.

Mohamed Mostafa, an engineering student and tennis player, died on Wednesday after being shot in the chest during clashes between demonstrators and the army in Qasr El-Ainy, one of the streets leading to Tahrir Square.

Ultras Ahlawy, who denied being involved in the clashes as a group but said its members had the right to participate in demonstrations as individuals, chanted “We will sacrifice our lives for the sake of the martyr”, a few minutes before the start of the game.

The Ultras also hurled insults at the military police, while Ahly coach Manuel Jose and his assistants wore a shirt emblazoned with the words “R.I.P Mohamed Mostafa”.

Maqassa took the lead when Fouad Salama converted a penalty after 30 minutes but an own goal by Mohamed Ibrahim gifted Ahly the equalizer on the stroke of halftime.

A superb header by substitute Mohamed Nagy ‘Gedo’ with 14 minutes remaining handed Ahly all three points as they moved into second place with 17 points, five behind leaders Harras El-Hodoud who played two games more.

Blistering pace

The match started at blistering pace, with Maqassa exploiting the gaps in the defence of Ahly whose adventurous line-up that included one striker and four attacking midfielders cost them in the early stages.

Ahly needed a last-ditch interception from central defender Wael Gomaa to prevent Ivorian striker Oussou Konan from opening the scoring after four minutes but Maqassa made amends in the 29th minute to go ahead.

Gomaa’s partner Ahmed El-Sayed, who made a rare start after injuries hit Ahly’s backline, needlessly tugged Hani Saied inside the area as the referee immediately pointed to the spot.

Salama stepped up to send keeper Sherif Ekramy the wrong way and give Maqassa a surprise lead.

Ahly piled on pressure and came close to levelling the score when a piledriver by winger Abdallah El-Saied was superbly blocked by Maqassa keeper Mostafa Kamal.

Konan wasted a glorious chance to double Maqassa’s advantage in the 40th minute when he robbed central midfielder Hossam Ghaly on the edge of the area to break clear but his low shot was thwarted by Ekramy at the near post.

Maqassa paid for the wasted effort when Ahly equalized just four minutes later. Kamal poorly dealt with a Ghaly corner, pushing it off the back of midfielder Ibrahim and into the net.

Barakat appearance

Ahly’s veteran attacking midfielder Mohamed Barakat replaced El-Sayed in the second half to make his first appearance of the season after spending a lengthy spell on the sidelines due to a fractured arm.

He appeared as lively as ever, with his surging runs helping Ahly gain the upper hand in a second period they dominated.

The introduction of Gedo, whose inconsistency prompted Jose to confine him to the bench, also made the difference as he managed to notch the winner in the 67th minute.

He beat his marker to a pinpoint cross from left-back Sayed Moawad to send a superbly-executed header past Kamal.

Maqassa had a goal ruled out for a foul on Gomaa in the build up in the dying minutes as Ahly held on to extend their unbeaten run to seven matches.

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