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Zamalek crash out of Champions League to spoil Hassan's debut A keeper blunder ruins Hossam Hassan's birthday's celebration as Zamalek exit the African Champions League
Zamalek's hopes of reaching the African Champions League semis were dashed after losing Congolese side AS Vita Club 1-0 in Alexandria on Sunday. Sentuma Yunus scored on a terrible mistake from keeper Mohamed Abou-Gabal in the 54th minute to kill the Whites' chances in remaining in the hunt for their first title since 2002. The victory sealed AS Vita Club qualification alongside fellow countrymen TP Mazembe with still a match to go. Zamalek remained at the bottom of the group with four points, sharing the spoils with Sudan's Al-Hilal. The loss is first for the Whites under new coach Hossam Hassan who was eyeing a winning debut in his second stint with the team. Hassan – whose birthday party turned sour - recently returned to the club for following the sacking of rookie tactician Mido. Promising start Zamalek players produced an enthusiastic performance in the opening stages of the game. New striker Khaled Kamar could have break the deadlock as early as in the third minute as he was sent clear in the area but he was brilliantly denied by the visitors' keeper. Zamalek continued their pressure through active and successive attacks by striking duo Ahmed Aly and Kamar but without a real threat. Despite controlling the ball for the most time, the hosts failed to capitalize on their possession. Ten minutes before the break, striker Ahmed Ali wasn't lucky enough to score the opener from a close header as the ball went inches next to the post. A keeper's howler Back from the interval, Zamalek intensified their efforts to grab the lead. Winger Mostafa Fathi and Khaled Kamar had two successive chances to score but the keeper produced some heroic stretches to keep his cleans sheets. Against the runoff play, Zamalek's keeper Mohamed Abou-Gabal made a terrible blunder as he failed to grab an easy long ball only to fall in front of Sentuma Yunus who rounded him and scored in the empty nets. Hossam Hassan's men attacked en masse to restore parity but being under a lot of pressure they failed to mount a serious threat against a solid and organized midfield and defense lines. Chances kept flying away as Ali, Kamar and Fathi missed clear cut chances that could have reversed their fortunes. Youngster Youssef Ibrahim "Obama" – who replaced unfortunate striker Ahmed Ali – had a disallowed foal for offside. Already eliminated Zamalek and Al-Hilal will play each other in two weeks in the final round of the group stage. (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at@AO_Sportsand on Facebook atAhramOnlineSports.) http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/108183.aspx
