File photo of Ahly striker Emad Meteb (Photo: Ahram)
Attacking duo Emad Meteb and Saladin Said came off the bench to strike late and give Ahly a precious 2-0 win over Dakhlya on Monday, to keep alive the Reds' slim hopes of retaining the Egyptian Premier League title.
Second-half substitutes Meteb and Said found the net in the 77th and 88th minutes respectively, pushing the Red Devils to narrow the gap with their arch-rivals and league leaders Zamalek, who stumbled after a 1-1 draw with Gouna earlier in the day.
Ahly moved to second place, sharing the spoils with ENPPI with 61 points, with the latter enjoying a much better goal difference. Zamalek are leading the way with nine points ahead, and they have a game in hand.
The loss added woes for Dakhlya who are now facing relegation, as they lie in 16th place with 37 points.
The first real action came after two minutes, as Ahly's Nigerian striker Peter Ebimobowei missed a clear-cut chance to score just from outside the six-yard box as he surprisingly failed to keep the ball against Dakhlya defenders.
Ahly directly tried to control the game through the midfield, while the opponents were keeping a tightened defence.
Reaching the half-hour mark, Ahly players kept trying to reach the goal, but without a real threat, especially amid missing coordination between midfield and attacking lines.
On the other side, Dakhlya were mainly relying on counter attacks.
In the remaining minutes before the break, Dakhlya had the upper hand throughout successive trials by active striker Hossam Paolo, but Ahly's keeper Sherif Ekramy was on target.
Ahly revived in the second half
Seeing his team risking losing three precious points, Ahly coach Fathi Mabrouk early decided to inject new blood into his attacking line, replacing midfielder Mohamed Hani with forward Mohamed Nagy 'Gedo'.
Ahly kept putting pressure, but they lacked efficiency amid many missed passes, although striking duo Meteb and Saladin then came to make the difference.
With 13 minutes remaining, veteran striker Meteb benefited from a deflected shot by Ethiopian teammate Saladin to score the opener from close range.
Just two minutes before the final whistle, Saladin intercepted the ball from keeper Ahmed Fawzy, adding the second for Ahly.
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