Becoming a habit
Ahli's handball team tasted victory yet again, reports Inas Mazhar
Despite a 26-26 draw with Zamalek in their final game, defending champions Ahli had more than enough points to capture the league title for the second consecutive year. Ahli, which ended the season undefeated, collected 78 points, 10 ahead of runners-up Zamalek. Sporting club of Alexandria came in third with 58 points, Tayran and the Armed Forces followed with 51 points each, Olympi of Alexandria ended up with 48 points, Gezira 44 and Aluminium finished dead last with 40 points.
In Cairo Stadium, Zamalek jumped to a 5-0 lead but by half-time the lead had dissipated to two goals, 15-13.
Zamalek kept the lead throughout the second half except for the last precious few seconds during which Ahli managed to equalise.
Said team captain Gohar Nabil said that while the outcome of the league had been determined weeks ago, "we wanted to end the season with a clean slate."
As in all matches that involve Ahli and Zamalek, there were scenes of violence on and off the court. Hassan Yousri of Zamalek attacked a cameraman to prevent him from filming the Ahli players and their supporters as they were celebrating.
The Egyptian Handball Federation is currently studying the referees' reports before taking any measures.
Ahli head coach Assem El-Sadani said he was glad to have won the title for the second consecutive time since he took over, adding that it was done "despite injuries".
The victory allowed Ahli to qualify for three regional championships: the African Champions League Cup, the Arab League Champions Cup and the Arab Cup Winners Cup.
