Zamalek's out-of-favour striker Sherif Ashraf came on as a second-half substitute to hit a winner and give the White Knights a vital 1-0 win at Gouna in the Egyptian Premier League on Friday. The former Ahly youngster got his name on the score sheet in the 76th minute, to help Zamalek claim all three points. The Cairo side have secured provisional second place with 40 points, six behind leaders and arch-rivals Al-Ahly. Relegation-threatened Gouna lie 14th with 21 points. Visitors Zamalek were in control in the early minutes of the first half and created few scoring chances. The first opportunity fell to Alaa Ali when he tried to beat his marker in the air and head a Shikabala inch-perfect cross, but his close-range effort missed the target by inches. Gouna replied on 17 minutes when Ahmed Omran tried his luck from outside the area to see his low shot easily saved by goalie Abdul-Wahed Al-Sayed. Zamalek could have been awarded a penalty kick when Amr Issa handled the ball on the edge of the area, the referee signaled for a free kick though. Shikabala stepped up to convert it but his tame drive hit the wall. The coastal side redeemed themselves and had the lion's share of the possession midway through the first period. Omran came close to opening the scoring on the half-hour mark with a fierce volley yards away from the goal that was denied by the post. Gamal Hamza, who was playing against his former club Zamalek for the first time, whipped in a diagonal cross. The ball bounced off the ground before it was found by the unlucky Omran.
