Zamalek needed a stoppage-time goal from young forward Youssef Ibrahim 'Obama' to overcome a 10-man Beni Suef Telephones side in the Egyptian Premier League. After falling to a goal down early in the first half, courtesy of a header from Telephones striker Wael Farrag, former Lierse full-back Ahmed Samir Farag brought Zamalek level with a brilliant free kick eight minutes later. Even though Zamalek were expected to stage an easy comeback following the dismissal of Telephones' Farrag for a second bookable offense, the Whites barely threatened their opponents' goal until a header from substitute Obama settled the game. The victory kept Zamalek's mini-league qualification hopes alive after fellow Group B rivals Petrojet and Ismaily were held to draws earlier in the day. The Cairo giants now climbed to third place on 31 points, one behind second-placed Ittihad El-Shorta and three adrift of leaders Petrojet, who played a game more, with two matches left. Zamalek struggle, Obama settles it Just seven minutes into the first half, Beni Suef took the lead when striker Farrag caught the Zamalek defence napping to head a corner kick home. Zamalek upped the tempo after the goal, and eight minutes later Farag – who was deployed as a left-sided midfielder – notched the equaliser with a brilliant free kick. The match was then a one-way traffic with Zamalek completely dominating possession, even so struggled to carve out goal-scoring opportunities – with the hosts proving dangerous on the counter on few occasions. The second half was a similar affair to the first, even though Farrag's dismissal should have made Zamalek's mission much easier. Zamalek retained their control until their best chance of the half came from Moemen Zakareya, whose strike from inside the area went narrowly over the bar following some good work from defensive midfielder Ahmed Tawfik five minutes from time. But substitute Obama was the hero for his side when he headed in a corner kick at the far post to give Zamalek a precious win and keep their qualification hopes for the mini-league, which constitutes the winners and runners-up of each group, alive. (For more sports news and updates,followAhramOnlineSportson Twitter at@AO_Sportsand on Facebook atAhramOnlineSports.) http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/100575.aspx
