Zamalek league hopes fade after defeat at Masry

Title challengers Zamalek lose 2-0 to Masry in Port Said on Saturday as their Egyptian Premier League hopes fade

Two headers from Masry's Malian defender Eliassou Issiaka condemned Zamalek to a 2-0 defeat in Port Said to deal a serious blow to their hopes of winning the Egyptian Premier League title.
Issiaka headed home twice either side of the interval as Zamalek, who have not won the premier domestic competition since 2004, failed to atone for their goalless draw with El-Geish in their previous game.
Defending champions and league leaders Ahly can extend their advantage over Zamalek to five points if they beat Ismaily in Saturday's late kick-off, four days before Cairo's bitter foes meet in an anticipated derby.
Masry, who moved into the sixth spot with 40 points, extended their unbeaten streak under coach Taha Basri to seven matches.
No crowd trouble
Few Masry supporters stoned Zamalek's bus upon arrival in Port Said in the early hours of Saturday but the exciting match was free of the kind of crowd troubles which reignited security concerns in Egypt lately.
Zamalek coach Hossam Hassan had to field natural right-back Ahmed Samir as a central defender to partner Mahmoud Fathallah in the heart of the team's backline due to the absence of Amr El-Safty and Mohamed Younis, who are suspended and injured respectively.
Masry needed six minutes to open the scoring and send the enthusiastic home supporters into raptures after Issiaka rose above two defenders at the near post to head home a corner past keeper Abdel-Wahed El-Sayed.
The hosts remained the better side after going ahead, exploiting the huge gaps in Zamalek's shaky midfield, which included the disappointing Hassan Mostafa and ageing Hani Saied, with a swift interchange of short passes.
Zamalek only had a half-chance on the quarter hour mark when Omar Gaber cut inside his marker but could only send a poor shot with his weak left foot from inside the area.
Qatari winger Hussein Yasser, who seemingly started on the bench to avoid getting a yellow card which would rule him out of Wednesday's anticipated Cairo derby against Ahly, was introduced midway through the first half instead of Mostafa as Hassan sought to increase Zamalek's attacking options.
But the substitution had little impact, with Masry wasting an opportunity to double their advantage three minutes before the break when a mis-timed jump by El-Sayed allowed Burkina Faso striker Abdoulaye Cisse to head goalwards but his effort went just over the bar.
Further stunned
Zamalek were further stunned in the 52nd minute after Issiaka capitalized on a recurring defensive blunder to add the second and leave the visitors, who appeared downhearted, with an uphill climb.
He ghosted behind Zamalek defenders to meet an inch-perfect cross from left-back Ahmed Shedid with a superb diving header that went past the hapless El-Sayed.
Shedid could have turned from provider to scorer following a breakaway effort five minutes past the hour mark but his shot hit the side netting after taking a slight deflection off Fathallah.
Zamalek mounted pressure in the latter stages but could only muster two shots which hardly troubled Masry.
In-form keeper Ahmed El-Shennawi tipped over a powerful free-kick from Mahmoud Abdel-Razek ‘Shikabala', who was largely a peripheral figure, before Zamalek's lone striker Ahmed Gaafar fired wide with the goal at his mercy.
Masry held onto their comfortable advantage to maintain their superb run and deal a blow to Zamalek's title hopes.