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Zamalek floor Smouha in 10 minutes to put pressure on Ahly Zamalek score three late goals to secure a precious win over lowly Smouha and end a three-match winless run on Sunday
Leaders Zamalek struck three times in the last 10 minutes to grab a 3-0 home victory over Smouha and put pressure on nearest challengers Ahly in the Egyptian Premier League. Zamalek broke the resistance of the Alexandria-based club when substitute Ahmed Gaafar finished off a flowing move involving Amr Zaki and Mahmoud Abdel-Razek ‘Shikabala' in the 80thminute. Hussein Yasser, an Egyptian-born Qatari winger who also started on the bench, doubled the lead two minutes later following a superb individual effort before Shikabala converted a stoppage-time penalty to complete the rout. The win put an end to the White Knights' three-match winless run and stretched their lead at the top to four points. Defending champions Ahly, Zamalek's arch-rivals who are eyeing a seventh consecutive league crown, can narrow the gap back to one point if they beat Wadi Degla on Monday. Relegation-threatened Smouha remained second from bottom on 17 points, two adrift of the safety zone. No threats Algerian Mohamed Aoudia spearheaded Zamalek's attack in the first half after making a rare appearance. He was flanked by youngsters Mohamed Ibrahim and wizard Shikabala but none of them was able to threaten the visitors. A curling free-kick by Zamalek defender Mahmoud Fathallah was blocked by Smouha keeper in the team's sole genuine effort on goal before the break. It was Smouha who were unlucky not to grab the lead after launching some neatly-worked counter attacks which unsettled Zamalek's defence. Ghanaian forward Samuel Affum timed his run to perfection to latch onto a through pass and beat the offside trap but Zamalek keeper Abdel-Wahed El-Sayed rushed out to thwart his shot. Ex-Zamalek midfielder Mohamed Abdullah also went close to breaking the deadlock with a low shot that narrowly missed the target. Surging run Zamalek maintained the upper hand in terms of possession in the second period but their tame efforts hardly troubled Smouha in the early stages. A ferocious long-range drive by Shibakala went just wide before the introduction of strike duo Gaafar and Amr Zaki, who recently recovered from a troublesome knee injury, made the difference in the 80thminute. One of Shikabala's trademark surging runs saw him elude two defenders before finding Zaki with a deft pass. The former Wigan Athletic man picked out Gaafar with a precise pass at the far post to toe-poke the opener despite the keeper's desperate attempt to save it. Eight minutes from time, Yasser killed off Smouha's hopes of sharing honours when hepicked upthe ball in his own half before making a darting run to leave two defenders trailing in his wake and notch home with aplomb. Shikabala was rewarded for his effortswhen he nettedthe third from the spot after being tripped by Smouha's former Zamalek defender Beshir El-Tabie.
