Ahly inflict more derby misery on sorry Zamalek

Zamalek's winless streak against bitter foes Ahly extended to 17 games after to a 1-0 loss against their depleted rivals in the opening day of the final phase of the Egyptian Premier League

Zamalek's Cairo derby misery was compounded with yet another woeful display against illustrious rivals Ahly, who got the better of their success-starved neighbours despite missing a host of key players.
An own goal from Ahmed Tawfik in the first half was enough to hand Ahly all three points and deal a huge blow to Zamalek's hopes of ending a 10-year Egyptian Premier League drought as the final mini-league phase got underway.
Earlier in the day, Alexandria-based club Smouha crushed Petrojet 4-1 to kick off the last stage in style.
Ahly and Zamalek have dominated Egypt's premier domestic competition since 2002, with the former enjoying the lion's share after winning seven straight titles from 2004 to 2011, after which two successive seasons were cancelled due to the political turmoil that gripped Egypt following a popular uprising that toppled autocratic leader Hosni Mubarak more than three years ago.
Saturday's results leave Smouha and Ahly in pole position to win the title as Zamalek and Petrojet will be desperate to turn things around in the remaining two games in a mini-league phase with only home fixtures.
Ahly had to play with several youngsters to make up for the absence of some key players due to persistent injuries, including attacking midfielders Abdallah El-Saied and Walid Soliman and strikers Mohamed Nagy 'Gedo' and Emad Meteb.
They were hardly affected though, with their fresh and hungry footballers giving torrid time to a porous Zamalek defence that leaked 21 goals in 20 league games before Saturday's derby.
Zamalek have not defeated Ahly since 2007, which is their solitary derby victory in 10 years. They have lost eight times and drawn as many games since.
They were tipped to lay the derby ghosts to rest due to their opponents' absences but rookie boss Mido will be wondering what went wrong against a supposedly weak Ahly starting line-up.
Efficient Ahly
Chances were few and far between in a dour first half littered with too many mis-placed passes and some predictable moves at either end, but a more efficient Ahly side unsettled Zamalek's shaky backline on the break despite enjoying little possession.
All the goal-scoring opportunities fell to Ahly, whose youngsters outfoxed their counterparts and forced some fine saves from veteran goalkeeper Abdel-Wahed El-Sayed, who saved Zamalek from further embarrassment in another disappointing derby for the White Knights.
In scenes very familiar for Zamalek's distraught supporters, Ahly's debutant Ramadan Sobhi, a 17-year-old playmaker likened to club great Mohamed Abou-Treika, and Karim Bambo exposed huge gaps in midfield to enjoy smooth rides to an almost unguarded area.
Ahly grabbed the lead in a fortuitous manner though, with Tawfik's attempt to steal possession on the edge of his own area via a sliding tackle ended up rolling the ball past El-Sayed and into the bottom corner of the net.
Zamalek coach Mido introduced youngsters Mostafa Fathi and forward Youssef Ibrahim, nicknamed Obama after the American president, in the second half to shore up a sluggish attack.
The duo rescued Zamalek on several occasions this term, but they were helpless this time around as a compact Ahly side held firm, giving little room for their opponents to carve out openings.
It was Ahly who were guilty of spurning some clear-cut chances.
A Bambo volley that bounced off the ground went just over the bar from inside the area and he was thwarted by El-Sayed after running onto a defence-splitting pass from Sobhi.
Sobhi, who showed flashes of his talent with some neat through passes, wasted the best chance on 55 minutes when he broke clear after another defensive lapse but his low shot with the outside of his right foot, a strike that defined Abou-Treika's glittering career, was brilliantly saved by El-Sayed.
Despite being on the backfoot for most of the game, Zamalek still had a chance to at least secure a share of spoils when they were awarded a penalty eight minutes past the hour mark after substitute Ahmed Ali was felled by Ahly keeper Sherif Ekramy.
Set-pieces specialist Fathallah skewed his effort high over, drawing an angry response from Mido and club chairman Mortada Mansour and summing up Zamalek's season.
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