Egypt's Zamalek continued their resurgence in the African Confederation Cup to put themselves in pole position for a place in the last eight, crushing Kenya's Gor Mahia 4-0 at home on Sunday to move top of Group D with one match remaining. Two first-half goals from central defender Mahmoud Alaa, who made his comeback from injury, and deep-lying forward Youssef Ibrahim gave Zamalek a comfortable lead at the interval. Ferjani Sassi and striker Omar El-Said netted two late goals to help Zamalek avenge a bitter 4-2 defeat at Gor Mahia in their opening group game, which was followed by a disappointing 1-1 home draw with Algeria's NA Hussein Dey as the Cairo giants made a stuttering start. They were also held to a 1-1 home draw by Petro Atletico before recovering with a 1-0 away win over the Angolans to haul themselves back into contention in a tight race in the group. They now top the group with eight points, one ahead of Petro Atletico and NA Hussein Dey and two clear of Gor Mahia. Zamalek need only a draw in their last game away to NA Hussein Dey next week to seal their last-eight spot. Zamalek needed 12 minutes to take the lead in Alexandria, Alaa rising unmarked at the far post to head into an empty net after an inswinging free-kick from diminutive left-back Abdallah Gomaa flew over keeper Fredrick Odhiambo. There was an air of inevitability about a second goal and it duly arrived in the 25th minute. In-form Tunisian midfielder Sassi floated a cross into the area, with burly striker El-Said laying off the ball to Youssef Ibrahim to rifle a left-foot first-timer into the roof of the net. Zamalek then wasted a slew of goal-scoring chances to increase the gap, with El-Said breaking clear before his attempt to round the keeper was intercepted by a defender and Moroccan winger Hamid Ahaddad having a header denied by Odhiambo. The White Knights took their foot off the gas pedal in a slow second half, but they still had a chance to add a third when El-Said failed to properly connect with a cross with the goal at his mercy. On 80 minutes, a needless rush out from Odhiambo allowed substitute Ibrahim to skip past him on the right flank but his angled shot was denied by a goal-line clearance from a defender. However, Sassi made amends in brilliant fashion shortly after, racing clear and leaving the keeper flat-footed with a superb piece of individual skill to slot into an empty net. El-Said completed the rout with a simple finish to cap his efforts after a mis-hit shot from substitute Mahmoud Abdel-Aziz fell kindly to him. (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)
