As the opening round of the Libyan Premier League approaches its conclusion, teams continue to battle for position in the top three spots in each group. One of the clubs who have already secured passage to the second round is Al Ahli Tripoli who continue to dominate Group 4 with a perfect record.
Ahli faced little resistance in their latest match on Friday, a 3-0 victory over Al Watan. Former Espérance ST star Hamdou Elhouni scored twice, providing the opening goal on the half hour mark.
Angolan striker Mabululu added yet another goal to his tally, brining the Palancas Negras star's total to seven goals this season and level with compatriot and Al Akhdar forward Ary Papel at the top of the league scoring charts. Mabululu struck a splendid long range effort in the 65th minute to double Ahli's lead.
Elhouni, the 30-year-old former Libya national team winger, added one more goal to bring his total to five for the current campaign. Ahli have yet to allow a goal in six matches while producing nineteen goals, leading many to label them the favorites to capture the league after spending big money to secure the services of players like Mabululu.
In the other match from Group 4 on Friday it was forward Erick Kambale, former star of Uganda's Express FC, who scored in Al Ittihad Misurata's 2-0 victory over Abi Al Ashar. It was Kambale's third goal of the season for Ittihad who are favorites to advance to the next round after moving up to third place in the group.
In Group 2, Al Hilal Benghazi bounced back from a derby defeat to rivals Al Ahly by defeating Al Murooj 1-0. Poor goalkeeping allowed Tunisian defender Mohamed Ben Salem to score the only goal of the match after the Murooj keeper came out and failed to claim a free kick service, allowing Ben Salem to head into an empty goal. Hilal move into second place in Group 2, four points behind Al Ahly and three points clear of fourth place.
The league resumes action on January 20 with matches from Group 1 and Group 3. Al Akhdar, Al Ahli's apparent main contenders, will be among the teams in action as they look to maintain their perfect record.
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