Zamalek quickly recovered from a poor showing in an opening draw with Petrojet, demolishing Ittihad of Alexandria 5-1 in the Egyptian Premier League on Saturday to give Swiss coach Christian Gross his first win at the helm. Winger Mahmoud Kahraba, who returned to Zamalek following a two-year loan spell with Saudi Arabia's Ittihad, shined in the first half as he scored the fifth fastest goal in the league's history, provided an assist and won a controversial penalty to help the team score three goals without reply. He was taken off injured just past the hour mark but the Cairo giants were still ruthless, Congolese striker Kabongo Kasongo and substitute Mohamed Antar netting two more goals to give them a comprehensive win after they were held to a 0-0 draw by Petrojet in their opening league game last week. Striker Khaled Qamar, an ex-Zamalek player, scored a consolation for Ittihad early in the second half. Zamalek moved temporarily top with four points from two games. Ittihad have a solitary point after they played out a 1-1 draw with Arab Contractors in their opening match. 26-second goal Kahraba needed 26 seconds to put Zamalek ahead, slotting into an empty net after keeper Al-Hani Soliman parried an innocuous shot from debutant Ibrahim Hassan into his path. He was the provider for Zamalek's second in the 11th minute, whipping in a cross from the left that deep-lying forward Youssef Ibrahim, nicknamed Obama after the former United States president, met with a glancing header that left Soliman with no chance. Zamalek wasted a couple of easy chances to increase the gap but Ittihad briefly threatened to pull one back, Ghanaian striker Emmanuel Banahene heading just wide from a corner and full-back Ramzi Khaled rattling the outside of the post with a fierce shot from inside the area. But central defender Mahmoud Alaa ended the match as a contest when he coolly converted a dubious penalty eight minutes before the break after Kahraba went down under a soft challenge. Qamar gave Ittihad a lifeline with a superb header following a left-wing cross in the 56th minute but any hopes the visitors had of staging a remarkable comeback were extinguished nine minutes later. Ibrahim broke clear after a cross-field pass from Antar but his shot was smothered by Soliman. He picked up the loose ball and pulled the ball back to Kasongo for an easy tap-in. Antar completed the rout with nine minutes remaining after a superb individual effort, skipping past two challengers and beating Soliman at his near post with a low shot. (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)
