Al Ahly can kick-off their 2016/2017 Egyptian Premier League title celebrations after drawing with Misr El-Maqassa 2-2 in the 30th round of the same competition.
Hossam El-Badry and his men won the league title with four games remaining in the Egyptian Premier League, and are yet to lose a game in this campaign.
Al Ahly started the match in search of a win to confirm their league title triumph, while Maqassa were in search of a win to decrease the point gap between the league leaders.
The first 20 minutes of the match lacked dangerous chances in front of goal, but the intensity from the players was present. Nigerian striker Junior Ajayi was finally able to break the deadlock in the 23rd minute of the game after a failed clearance from Maqassa’s player left Ajayi with only the goalkeeper to beat.
Maqassa’s players did not give up as Al Ahly loanee Ahmed El-Sheikh led the front-line. In the 33rd minute, Maqassa almost equalized through El-Sheikh’s curler, but Sherif Ekramy cleared it for a corner.
In the 42nd minute, Ahly loanee John Antwi missed a one on one chance with Ekramy, and the referee signaled the end of the first-half with Al Ahly maintaining a 1-0 lead.
In the second half, the Maqassa players pushed for an equalizer, thus inviting more chances on both ends of the field.
In the 62nd minute, Walid Soliman doubled Al Ahly’s lead after Ajayi beat two Maqassa players, but failed to get passed the keeper, whose failed clearance allowed Soliman make the score 2-0.
Just six minutes later, Misr El-Maqassa was awarded a penalty and El-Sheikh successfully converted it, giving his teammates some hope for an equalizer. In the 73rd minute, Antwi was able to equalize for Maqassa against his former club from a breakaway.
Al Ahly is currently 12 points clear from second place Misr El-Maqassa with four games to play and a chance to win the title without a single loss.
King Fut
