“We are on the right track and the players’ performance has developed. We are doing our best to improve the frontline status,” Soares said at the press conference after the game.

Ahly's mini-revival came to an end with a disappointing 0-0 draw with Eastern Company on Wednesday as they lost ground in their battle with Pyramids FC to finish second in the Egyptian Premier League.

With Zamalek in pole position to secure a second consecutive league crown, Ahly's realistic target is earning a runners-up spot.

“Ahly continued without winning three games in a row. The team scored 17 goals in 12 games and received 10 goals to gain 20 or 21 points in the league race,” the Portuguese coach said.

“Since my arrival, we scored 16 goals and received only four goals, gaining four more points,” Soares added.

The Red Devils decided early this August to play the rest of the season with the youth team and the players who returned from injury.

“I thank all the young players for their performance. They deserved to win the game against Eastern Company,” Soares said.

“The young players need more confidence and we have to do our best to train them well because they were training at a lesser rate,” the Ahly coach said.

Ahly, who showed relative improvement lately after winning two successive games, are third in the table with 63 points, two behind Pyramids FC and nine adrift of Cairo rivals Zamalek.

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