The match was about to end in a goalless draw, but a late strike by Ihab Al-Masri earned the Mountain Wolves a narrow win, after a host of wasted chances.

Contractors are now ninth in the league table with 26 points, while Asyut lie 13th with 25, just five points clear of the relegation zone.

The hosts were in control throughout the 90 minutes, while Asyut, who impressed against Ahli last week, were obviously off-form.

Contractors' Mahmoud Bayoumi had a headed goal disallowed on 50 minutes when striker Reda Al-Weeshi was ruled offside.

Two minutes from time, Al-Masri hit a precious winner after dribbling past goalie Mostafa Kamal to slot into an empty net.

Salah Amin was close to doubling the home side's lead seconds before the final whistle, but he failed to connect with Al-Weeshi's precise cross.

After the game, Asyut coach Mohamed Amer admitted that his side were out-of-sorts.

"I think the result is fair, we didn't deserve to salvage a point," Amer disappointingly said after the game. "We have to redeem ourselves quickly."

Much-Needed Win

Meanwhile, relegation-threatened Olympic registered a much-needed 2-1 win over Ghazl Mahalla in an exciting game.

Olympic's Mostafa Mostafa opened the scoring upon converting the first spot-kick on 75 minutes.

The Alexandrian side didn't enjoy their slender lead for long as Salah Abdul-Rehim earned a penalty for Mahalla three minutes later to allow Mohammed Al-Etrawy to score an equalizer.

On 87 minutes, Mostafa whipped in an indirect free-kick that was easily diverted into the net by Hani Ragab, thanks to guardian Ibrahim Farag who overturned Mostafa's long ball.

Olympic now lie in 15th place in the league table with 20 points, while Mahalla are 12th with 25.