Nile League: Ashour first half brace moves Al Ahly out of reach of Modern Sport

The 11th round of the Nile Egyptian League concluded today with two matches: Al Ahly vs. Modern Sport and Smouha vs. Ceramica Cleopatra.

Al Ahly 3-1 Modern Sport: Gradisar and Emam Ashour shine again

With new signing Achraf Bencharki watching from the stands, Al Ahly ended their three-game winless streak in all competitions with a 3-1 victory over Modern Sport.

Gradisar opened the scoring in the 13th minute with a shot inside the box after a precise pass from Hussein El Shahat. This marks his second consecutive goal in as many matches since joining the team during the January transfer window.

Emam Ashour doubled Al Ahly’s lead in the 29th minute with a piece of skill inside the box before finishing into the net.

He then scored his second and Al Ahly’s third in the 39th minute after controlling a pass with his chest before scoring .

Both of Ashour’s goals were assisted by Gradisar, further highlighting the new signing’s immediate impact.

Modern Sport pulled one back in the 75th minute through Arnold Eba, who did a one-two with Abd Allah Ahmed Hafez to find the back of the net.

With this win Al Ahly are back to winning ways after drawing their last two league games against Pyramids and Pharco and getting a CAF Champions League defeat to Orlando Pirates.

With his brace, Emam Ashour has now climbed to the top of the Nile Egyptian League scoring charts with six goals, tying Zamalek’s Nasser Mansi.

Standings after Round 11

Al Ahly: 2nd place with 23 points, just one point behind leaders Pyramids.

Modern Sport: 17th (second-bottom) with 7 points.

Smouha 1-0 Ceramica Cleopatra: Abdelkabir El Ouadi secures victory

In the second match of the day, Smouha edged past Ceramica Cleopatra 1-0, courtesy of a 63rd-minute penalty by Abdelkabir El Ouadi.

This victory marks Smouha’s second consecutive league win and fourth overall this season’s Nile League, after managing just one win in their first seven rounds.

On the other hand, this was only Ceramica Cleopatra’s second defeat of the season in the Nile Egyptian League.

Standings after Round 11

Ceramica Cleopatra: 4th with 19 points.

Smouha: 13th with 14 points.

League Table through 11 rounds

*In March, the top nine finishers at the conclusion of the first stage will be grouped into a championship stage while the bottom nine clubs are grouped into a relegation stage.