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Zamalek dealt first Champions League loss against Congo's Vita Club The Whites failed to keep their clean sheet in the prestigious continental tournament after Sunday's 2-1 loss in Congo
Zamalek's Champions League campaign was dealt a blow on Sunday after their 2-1 loss to Congo's AS Vita Club in the group stage opener. Striker Mbala Ndombe gave the Congolese team an early lead after 19 minutes, but forward Momen Zakarya netted the equaliser on the 76th minute. A late winner by Emmanuel Ngudikana prevented Zamalek from returning home with a single point, as they were all square until 10 minutes before the match's end. The Whites failed to continue their impressive performance in the final round of 16, having marched through with an emphatic 5-0 aggregate win over Zambia's N'kana Red Devils. They lost three precious points against Vita Club, whose sole continental triumph was in 1973. Under the guidance of their rookie coach, Zamalek seek their first continental title since 2002. The five-time African champions must fight in their coming match against Sudan's Al-Hilal to continue their Champions league campaign successfully. The defeat came to destroy Zamalek's clean sheet away from home, as they entered the match without having conceded a goal in the competition so far this season. Early lead for the hosts Vita had the upper hand from the start – playing at home amid the support of 5,000 fans in the stands and being able to impose real pressure on the visitors early on. The supremacy of the Congolese team continued as they managed to reach the goal, with the opener scored by striker Mbala Ndombe in the 19th minute when he skipped past defender Mohamed Abdel-Shafy to hit the net from close range. After 30 minutes, Zamalek players restored the balance, dominating the football but failing to impose real pressure on their hosts. Extra efforts by defender Abdel-Shafy, midfield duo Eslam Awad and Nour El-Sayed, besides Ahmed Gaffar in the attacking line, made Zamalek the best in the remaining minutes before the break. In the 40th minute, defensive midfielder Ahmed Tawfik had a golden chance to score the equaliser when he received a perfect cross from Abdel-Shafy, but his shot was stopped by a Vita defender. Despite the humble performance of Vita's defence line, Zamalek players failed to reach the net until the end of the first half. A better second half Early in the second half, Zamalek's boss Mido replaced defender Hmada Tolba with substitute midfielder Hazam Emam in a bid to refresh his team's attack. The Whites continued their dominance, searching for the equaliser but in vain. After 13 minutes, attacking midfielder Mohamed Ibrahim replaced Islam Awad as Mido eyed more control of the match. On the 66th minute, Vita Club's striker suddenly reached Zamalek's goal, but Abdel-Shafy was on target, saving his team from a certain goal. Mido directly made the third substitution of the match, replacing Nour El-Sayed with young forward Youssef Ibrahim 'Obama'. On minutes 68 and 69, Obama and striker Gaafar had two successive chances to score but they weren't lucky enough. Mido's attacking tactics quickly proved their worth as the Cairo giants scored the equaliser on the 76th minute with a diving header by forward Momen Zakarya, who received a perfect cross from Abdel-Shafy. Using a fatal error of defender Mahmoud Fathallah, Emmanuel Ngudikana stopped Zamalek's celebrations on minute 80 when he put Vita Club in the lead again with a second goal. The two teams maintained equal efforts to score again in the remaining minutes, especially by Zamalek, but the referee's final whistle came to end the battle. (For moresports news andupdates,followAhramOnline Sportson Twitter at@AO_Sportsand on Facebook atAhramOnlineSports.) http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/101646.aspx
