In a drab affair at a near-empty Cairo Stadium, central midfielder Hossam Ghaly scored his first goal for Ahli after joining in the close season to give them all three points.

The former Tottenham Hotspur and Feyenoord man headed home from a corner seven minutes after the restart as Ahli avoided an embarrassing draw against a Degla side who conceded 16 goals in five games before facing the Red Devils.

The win is unlikely to ease pressure on Ahli's under under-fire coach Hossam Al-Badri, whose job is apparently hanging by a thread after a poor run of form.

His future might depend on the outcome of the team's anticipated two-legged clash against Tunisian side Esperance in the African Champions League semi final next month.

Ahli lie eighth in the league table with eight points, three behind leaders Masri who played two games more.

Degla, who are making their top-flight debut, remain second from bottom on three points.

No pace, no rhythm

Lacking pace and rhythm, Ahli struggled to break down an organized Degla side in the first half.

Veteran attacking midfielders Mohamed Abou-Treika and Mohamed Barakat were out of sorts, failing to feed strike duo Mohamed Fadl and Mohamed Talaat who were equally ineffective.

But the hosts still had three decent chances to open the scoring during the first half.

A close-range header from Fadl missed the target on 11 minutes after a cross from right-back Ahmed Fathi.

Barakat raced clear after latching onto a superb long ball from Hossam Ashour seven minutes later but his attempted lob was blocked by keeper Haytham Mohamed.

Abou-Treika wasted a third opportunity six minutes before the break when Talaat laid off for him to send a first-time shot that was superbly tipped away by Haytham.

Ghaly, who missed Ahli's last three Champions League games due to African suspension, finally put the team in front in the 52nd minute when he rose at the near post to head home Fathi's corner.

He could have scored his second of the night four minutes past the hour mark after a neat exchange of passes with Fadl but his weak shot was saved by Haytham.

The energetic but inefficient Talaat also squandered a clear-cut chance and Fadl had a goal wrongfully disallowed for offside.

Degla pushed forward in the latter stages to claim an unlikely equalizer but were unable to make the breakthrough.