Despite losing hope of winning the football league title this season, Zamalek could find some compensation in tomorrow's Cairo derby against Ahli. Ahmed Morsy reports Egyptian football fans are on a date with a hot Cairo derby tomorrow night 16 April when league leaders Ahli, who are on the verge of capturing their sixth consecutive crown, clash with arch-rivals Zamalek who look like once again ending up as bridesmaid. Zamalek's title hopes were dealt a mortal blow after their loss to Haras Al-Hedoud in mid-week and Ahli's win against Ittihad. The gap between Zamalek and Ahli is now nine points with only four games to go (Ahli also have a game in hand). Still, the derby is the derby and tomorrow's 105th clash is no exception. For Zamalek, who made a brilliant jump from 14th to second place, only to fall short in the end, the derby is one final chance for glory now that the league crown is virtually untenable. Ahli, on the other hand, would like nothing better than to cap their winning season by beating their cross-town rivals. Historically, Ahli have beaten Zamalek 37 times, lost 25, with 42 draws. The last two encounters ended in a goalless draw. However, one sports critic is expecting anything but a tie. "Though Ahli are close to retaining the title this season, Zamalek have a historic, amazing as well as unprecedented opportunity to claim a large win over Ahli," Alaa Sadek, famed TV sports journalist, said of tomorrow's clash. "Zamalek are stronger technically and physically. The are better in the individual skills department and their team spirit is higher. They have all the elements of excellence," Sadek added. But Ahli's midfielder captain Ahmed Hassan is playing down the meet, describing it as normal and one his team does not need to win. "It's merely one game and a win will only add three more points to Ahli's tally," Egypt's skipper said. "Despite being a derby, we are not compelled to win the game since a draw will be enough for us." In the 26th week of the Egyptian national league, Ahli took a big step toward successfully defending their crown after edging Ittihad of Alexandria 1-0 on Sunday. Liberian Ahli striker Francis Doe, who was given an unusual starting berth, opened the scoring minutes before the interval to give the defending champions all three points. Mohamed Barakat whipped in a diagonal cross that Mohamed Fadl headed wide in the path of Doe, who made no mistake from inside the box. In the second half, Ahli kept the upper, although Ittihad stepped up their attacking efforts. Ittihad's Mahmoud Shaker tried to net a leveler four minutes past the hour mark with a powerful drive that Ahli's goalie Ahmed Adel competently parried. Osama Hosni, who replaced Doe in the second half, could have doubled Ahli's lead in the 71st minute when he was set up by Afrotto outside the area, but his drive was blocked. Afrotto, also a second half substitute, dribbled past a couple of Ittihad defenders before his poor execution from the edge of the area wasted his effort. "We needed to keep concentrating on our game with Ittihad, and not to think about the next match with Zamalek," Ahli coach Hossam El-Badri stated after the game. Nevertheless, El-Badri stressed that the Cairo derby was in a league of its own, regardless of league standings. "Our results are satisfying but the Cairo derby is an independent tournament," he added. "Zamalek are in good form these days, so the match will be pulsating." Ittihad assistant coach Mohamed Nour blamed his team's defeat to the absence of Mohamed Nagi 'Geddo' who was suspended. "Geddo's absence affected our front-line and was one of the main reasons why we lost the game," Nour told a post-match press conference. "He's an integral part of our attacking strategy and we missed him against Ahli." Geddo was the top scorer and a revelation in January's Africa Cup of Nations in Angola, finding the net five times, even though he was used as a sub in every game. Elsewhere, Haras Al-Hedoud snatched a 2-1 win over Zamalek in Alexandria on Sunday to end their 14-match unbeaten run. It was the fourth consecutive win for Al-Hedoud over Zamalek. The match had a dull start with both sides defending tightly throughout the first half. Seven minutes from half time, Hedoud's Ahmed Mekki could have netted the opener when he tried his luck from an acute angle, only to miss the target by inches. Meanwhile, Zamalek dynamo Hussein Yasser darted down the flank to flick the ball to Shikabala, whose tame low shot was no threat. Yasser squandered another golden chance right before the break, when he beat the offside trap to go one-on-one with keeper Mathurin Kameni but his chipped ball went wide. Four minutes from the hour mark, Mekki put the home side ahead when he hurled unmarked towards goal diverting Mohamed Hamed's feeble shot into the net. In the 72nd minute, Islam Ramadan set the game alight after he unintentionally brought down Zamalek striker Sherif Ashraf, a second half substitute, in the area to gift the home team a penalty kick. Ahmed Magdi converted to bring the score level and help his team regain control. Minutes later, Al-Hedoud's Mekki won a dubious penalty kick after Ashraf tried to nutmeg him. The challenge seemed to be legitimate and the referee pointed at the spot one more time. Mekki, who broke the deadlock, took the kick but was denied by Abdel-Wahed El-Sayed with a decent save. However, Mohamed Hamed compensated for the squandered penalty right before the final whistle. He latched onto a long ball, which Amr El-Safti towered to clear but mistimed his jump. Hamed netted the winner with a clinical finish in the last minute. "Zamalek are a great team, and their status as one of the best forced them to attack right from the start," Haras Al-Hedoud coach Tarek El-Ashri said. "They left spaces behind and that gave us more opportunities to score, like what happened today. "Their impulsiveness helped us pull off good results in our meetings. We plot the same strategy while facing Ahli." On the same day, Enppi and Mansoura played out a goalless draw while Al-Gaish were held to a 1-1 stalemate at Military Production. Petrojet denied Assiout Petroleum their second home win of the season after a thrilling 3-2 win on Monday. Assiout were two goals up thanks to a double from ex-Petrojet striker Hossam Osama, but the relegation certainties failed to preserve their lead. Mohamed Koffi pulled one back for Petrojet on 65 minutes, Ahmed Shaaban equalised 11 minutes from time and Ahmed Abdel-Maguid scored the winner in the 87th minute. Petrojet moved to third on 42 points, five behind Zamalek, while Assiout are rock bottom with 16 points. Al-Gouna who clashed against Spinning Mehalla, Misri who met Arab Contractors and Ismaili who played against Police Union, all ended in goalless draws. FA CRACKS DOWN: Zamalek's league game at home to Police Union a fortnight ago witnessed ugly scenes after the final whistle. A free-for-all erupted, with several Zamalek players and Zamalek football director Ibrahim Hassan chasing Police technical staff members on the pitch. As a result, the Egyptian FA has banned Zamalek duo Hazem Emam and Alaa Ali for eight and three games respectively for the role they played in the chaos that punctuated last week's league games. "Emam will be suspended for eight matches and fined LE8,000 for trying to physically abuse the referee," the EFA said in a statement on their official website. Playmaker Ali was seen running after a Police technical staff member after the game. "Ali will be suspended for three matches and fined LE3,000 for assaulting one of Police's coaching staff members," the EFA added. Both players will miss Zamalek's Cairo derby against arch-rivals and league leaders Ahli on 16 April. Zamalek were also fined LE50,000 after their fans threw stones and bottles onto the pitch. Zamalek's de facto football director Ibrahim Hassan was also involved in some ugly scenes after the final whistle. He was seen beating Police assistant coach Mohamed Ibrahim before being separated by his twin brother Hossam Hassan, Zamalek's head coach, and security personnel. "Ibrahim Hassan will not be able to attend Zamalek's matches until the end of the season," the EFA said. "The EFA wish to thank Hossam Hassan and Abdel-Halem Ahli for their efforts to calm down the situation." Police Union assistant coach Mohamed Ibrahim was banned until the end of the season after making obscene gestures toward Zamalek fans. Ibrahim was also involved in the post- match scuffle. EFA chairman Samir Zaher said that punishment against misbehaving clubs will be toughened during the remainder of the season.
