Egypt's Ahly goalkeeper Sherif Ekramy (Photo: Reuters)
Cairo giants Ahly seem unfazed despite Monday’s defeat to Dakhleya, their second in a row, with the club's vice president backing players in Tuesday's morning session.
The Red Devils lost the top place in the league's Group A to Arab Contractors, who defeated them 2-1 last week. Ahly fell to second place with 12 points after six games.
Despite their poor form and the second loss in a row, it seems that the club’s management is not worried about the team's future, with the presence of vice president Mahmoud El-Khatib to offer players support ahead of Thursday's clash with Ghazl El-Mahalla.
Coach Mohamed Youssef did acknowledge however that Ahly faces hard times, blaming the absence of some key players due to injuries for the defeat.
"We are missing some key players and also depending on new faces, which makes our mission more difficult," the coach said after the match.
"I will not blame my players in public,” he said, adding that he would not resign “because that would mean escaping my responsibility, and I think it's too early to speak about reaching the tournament quarter finals.”
Red Devils forward El-Sayed Hamdy believes he and teammates did their best, but they weren't lucky enough against Dakhleya.
"Ahly players are not accustomed to defeats but all the matter is just down to just down to bad luck," Hamdy declared.
In a bid to reconcile their fans, the African Champions league title holders, Ahly, will be in a must-win situation when they take on Ghazl El-Mahalla in the eighth match day of the Egyptian league.
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