Emad Meteb was Ahly's hero after scoring two first-half goals against Mouloudia
Emad Meteb notched a brace in the first half as Ahly claimed their first group-stage win after beating Mouloudia Alger 2-0 at Cairo Stadium in Friday's Champions League clash.
The win revives Ahly's hopes of qualifying for the competition's semis after they made a poor start to their group-stage campaign. The Egyptian champions were held to a 3-3 home draw by Morocco's Wydad Casablanca before suffering a 2-1 loss to Tunisia's Esperance.
The six-time African champions moved level on four points with Wydad and Esperance, who meet in the other Group B match on Monday.
Ahly mounted pressure from the very beginning, motivated by the vociferous chants of the enthusiastic home crowd who packed Cairo Stadium on the 12th day of Muslims' holy month of Ramadan.
They needed 10 minutes to open the scoring and send the fans into raptures, thanks to a goal from striker Meteb who is gradually regaining top form after returning to his boyhood club in January.
He fed Mohamed Abou-Treika on the left before bursting into the area to receive the return cross from the veteran playmaker and send a free header home after Mouloudia's two defenders, who were busy marking Mohamed Nagy 'Gedo', were caught napping.
Meteb doubled Ahly's lead on 31 minutes with a low first-timer after right back Ahmed Fathi pulled the ball back to him. His shot bounced in front of Mouloudia keeper and went in.
Ahly eased off after scoring the second goal, allowing Mouloudia to control possession but the visitors hardly created clear-cut chances.
Mouloudia had a rare opportunity to level the score four minutes after the restart when Mohamed Amroune exchanged passes with a teammate and jinked into Ahly's area but his shot missed the target.
Ahly's second-half display was characterized by too many mis-placed passes from midfield duo Hossam Ghaly and Mohamed Shawky, which prompted coach Manuel Jose to vent his frustration on the touchline.
Brazilian striker Fabio Junior made his debut after coming on with ten minutes remaining, replacing Meteb who was applauded by the home fans on his way to the dugout.
He could have added a third goal for Ahly few minutes after his introduction but his powerful left-foot shot from the edge of the area went just wide.
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