CAIRO: Zamalek registered a thrilling 4-3 Egyptian League victory over rock bottom Suez Cement on Monday. Mahmoud Fathallah, Mohamed Bobo Reda (own goal) and Sherif Ashraf gave the Whites a comfortable lead before Mohamed Al-Fayoumi pulled one back before half-time. Substitute Ekrami Abdel Aziz added a second from the spot, but debutant Ahmed Ibrahim restored Zamalek s two-goal lead, but Al-Fayoumi grabbed a late consolation with his second of the game. Zamalek jumped temporarily to second place with 40 points, while the hapless Cement remain bottom with 20. The visitors were awarded a fifth minute penalty when Osama Hassan was fouled by Bobo, and Fathallah converted coolly. The home side committed men forward and Gamal Hamza had a chance to double the lead on the counter, but his poor shot went high. Ten minutes from the break, matters became worse for Bobo when the on-loan Ahly center-half blasted Ahmed Ghanem s cross into his own with a flying header. Sherif Ashraf added the third three minutes later, firing home from close range after his initial header was blocked by Wissam Ismail. The Whites had a chance to make it four just before half-time, but Shikabala s exquisite lob went agonizingly wide, in what would have been a goal of the season contender. Ironically, Cement hit back instantly as Al-Fayoumi s powerful shot left Abdel Wahed Al-Sayed motionless to give his team a precious lifeline. Seif Omar s team had no option but to attack, and Zamalek were guilty on several occasions of not punishing their opposition s vulnerable defense, which conceded 39 goals in 22 games before the match. The home side was awarded a controversial penalty on the hour mark when Ekrami was adjudged to be fouled by youngster Ibrahim. Ekrami stepped up himself and made no mistake from the spot to make it 3-2 and reduce the deficit to just one goal. However, Ibrahim atoned for his error as he scored Zamalek s fourth, finishing off Shikabala s clever through ball. Former Zamalek youngster Al-Fayoumi repeated his first-half feat when he beat Abdul-Wahed in injury time with a wonderfully placed curling shot.
