Zamalek thrashed Tanta 4-0 at the Cairo International Stadium on Friday to register their second successive victory in the Egyptian League. Alaa Abdul-Ghani opened the score early in the first-half before Amr Zaki doubled the lead 11 minutes after re-start. Substitutes Gamal Hamza and Magdi Attwa ensured the win with two strikes in the last five minutes. The victory placed Zamalek in second place of the league table with 16 points, just one adrift of leaders Ismaili. Zamalek came on will all guns blazing and imposed threats on the visitors in the first 10 minutes of the game. The Cairo giants' pressure resulted in an early opener in the sixth minute through former Arab Contractors midfielder Abdul-Ghani. Ghana's Awuley Quaye 'Junior' sent a low free-kick from the left flank that was parried by Tanta keeper into the path of Abdul-Ghani who slotted home on the rebound from close range. Tanta dominated possession after the goal but rarely had an impact on Zamalek keeper Mohamed Abdul-Monsef.
Hamza scored There was a clear gap in Zamalek's midfield as Moetazbellah Mohamed 'Eino' failed to fulfill his duties in the middle of the pitch and Portuguese coach Manuel Cajuda surprisingly left Mohamed Aboul-Ella on the bench. Mohamed Al-Hadi almost leveled the score in the 36th minute when he capitalized on Wael Al-Qabani's poor clearance on the edge of the area to send a brilliant first-timer off the bar. Zamalek were two ahead in the 56th minute when Tarek Al-Sayed rounded three players in the right flank before chipping the ball inside the area to Zaki, who controlled it on his chest before poking the ball over the advancing keeper Five minutes past the hour mark, Hamada Al-Ghawab fired a powerful shot but was again denied by the post. Cajuda introduced attacking duo Attwa and Hamza instead of Abdul-Halim Ali and Junior, the substitutes that proved effective for Zamalek. Hamza added the third five minutes from time when he scored in the empty net after being set-up by Zaki. Attwa completed the rout two minutes later after he latched-on to Hamza's through pass before blasting the ball into the top corner of the net. Elsewhere, ENPPI returned to winning ways after beating Harras Al-Hodoud 2-0 at home. Samir Sabri put ENPPI ahead after just one minute before Farag Shalabi sealed the victory in the 77th minute.
