Buoyant Ahly inspired by free-flowing football

Ahly resume Egyptian Premier League action on Wednesday with a sense of pride after starting to produce the kind of free-flowing football which coach Manuel Jose is seemingly yearning for. Few days after crushing Talae El-Gaish 3-0 in a league game which they could have easily won by a far bigger margin, given the numerous goal-scoring opportunities they created, Ahly proved that was no fluke after producing an equally impressive display against Bayern Munich. In a high-profile friendly against the German giants in Qatari capital Doha, Ahly were on the verge of securing a famous draw after veteran attacking midfielder Mohamed Barakat cancelled out Ivica Olic’s opener for Bayern. However, Croatian striker Olic struck deep in stoppage time following a blunder from Ahly keeper Sherif Ekramy as Bayern claimed a hard-fought 2-1 win. “The result doesn’t count, because we played a good match against the third best team in Europe and we dominated on the pitch,” Portuguese boss Jose said following the match. “My players appeared confident against a powerful opponent, delivering a very good performance. The last minute defeat didn’t upset me that much. “That’s usually the case, you play and Germans win. We have to concentrate now on the El-Entag El-Harby league match.” Jose is expected to stick to the players who began to gel in a firm attacking-minded strategy masterminded by the highly-successful coach, who is in his third stint with Ahly. The new system includes a sole defensive midfielder in Hossam Ashour, three attacking midfielders and a lone striker. The abundance of talents at the disposal of Jose usually leaves Premier League opponents chasing shadows when Ahly’s newly-found intricate passing game comes into effect. Struggling outfit El-Entag El-Harby are likely to find it difficult to cause an upset, given that they have just sacked manager Kamal Atman and brought in Mohamed Helmi as a replacement. They lie third from bottom in the table with eight points. Second-placed and title holders Ahly, who are just two points behind leaders Haras El-Hodoud with a game in hand, will miss striker Emad Meteb who is still nursing a back injury. “The match is difficult for two reasons. First, we will have to play on an artificial pitch,” Ahly football director Sayed Abdel-Hafiz commented. “Secondly, the players are exhausted due to the packed schedule. However, we are used to playing in such difficult circumstances.” Inconsistent Zamalek While Ahly have almost settled on their best starting line-up, arch-rivals Zamalek are still trying to shrug off the inconsistency that blights them as they target a first league triumph since 2004. They claimed a narrow 1-0 victory over Wadi Degla in their previous league game but they were far from impressive, casting doubts over their title credentials. Former Egypt coach Hassan Shehata has yet to settle on his ideal formation as Zamalek, who lie fourth in the table, three points behind Ahly, take on Gouna in Wednesday’s late encounter. They were boosted after Amr Zaki resolved his financial dispute with the club but the combative striker will not be available for the Gouna tie due to lack of fitness. Zamalek will have to do without regular left-back Mohamed Abdel-Shafy, who sustained an injury against Wadi Degla. ahramonline .