CAIRO: Zamalek striker Ahmed "Mido Hossam netted his first competitive goal this season but his side were held to a 1-1 draw with Gouna on Tuesday in the Egyptian Premier League. Ahmed Omran hit the opener two minutes from the break, but the Cairo giants equalized when Mido struck early in the second half. In the dying minutes, Amr Zaki received a straight red card after a brief verbal exchange with the linesman. Zamalek, who also failed to win their previous two league games, are now in eighth place with eight points, while the coastal outfit lie seventh on nine points. The first half was by far eventless, and Zamalek had several clear-cut opportunities that were all squandered. Almost on the half-hour mark, Mido was about to put the White Knights ahead with a looping header after knocking down keeper Sherif Ekrami in a aerial challenge, but his effort was cleared by a Gouna defender. The towering striker, who joined Zamalek on a season-long loan from English championship side Middlesbrough in the summer, had another chance from point-blank range three minutes later but his drive was amazingly blocked by the in-form Ekrami. Ekrami s incredible reflexes came in handy once again five minutes from halftime when he denied a Hassan Mostafa shot from inside the six-yard box. Although Zamalek had the lion s share of possession and scoring chances, the visitors managed to take the lead before the interval. The energetic Omran rose unopposed to head Hussein Ali s corner-kick past goalkeeper Mohamed Abdel-Monsef, who awkwardly overshot the ball while trying to punch it away. Zamalek defenders were mere bystanders. Three minutes after the break, Mido made amends for the spurned chances and volleyed home Sabri Rahil s left-wing cross with aplomb to restore parity. After the score was leveled, the match s tempo notably slowed down with both sides unable to play fluently. On 74 minutes, Ibrahim Ayew tried his luck from inside the area, but Ekrami parried the ball away.
