Zamalek title hopes suffered a huge blow after slumping to a 2-0 away defeat to Masri in the Egyptian League on Friday. Saied Rabie broke the deadlock in the 30th minute and set-up Ashour Al-Adham for the second shortly after the interval. Zamalek's hopes of competing for the title are fading as they lie third in the league table with 26 points, three behind second-placed and arch-rivals Ahli, who still have four games in hand, and five behind leaders Ismaili. The victory placed Masri in 12th place with 16 points. Amr Zak's absence affected Zamalek's performance as the Cairo side lacked efficiency in front of goal and wasted many opportunities. Masri were dangerous on the break and took advantage of their few attacks to grab a surprising lead in the first-half. In the 15th minute, Abdul-Halim Ali raced through Masri's area and hit a low shot that was saved by keeper Haytham Mohamed from a tight angle. Mohamed Al-Etrawi responded one minute later after he fired a stinging free-kick that was blocked by Zamalek keeper Mohamed Abdul-Monsef.
Rabie chipping the ball over Abdul-Monsef Rabie almost put the hosts ahead in the 27th minute when he connected with Wagih Abdul-Azim's inch-perfect cross at the far post to head the ball just wide. He broke the deadlock three minutes later after he latched on to a through pass that eluded Zamalek defender Tamer Abdul-Wahab before chipping the ball over the advancing Abdul-Monsef. After conceding the goal, Zamalek pushed forward searching for the equalizer and should have leveled the score on several occasions. One minute before the break, Tarek Al-Sayed sent a pinpoint cross to right-back Youssef Hamdi, who shot poorly over the bar with the goal at his mercy. In the first-half stoppage time, Al-Sayed exchanged the ball with Hamdi on the edge of the area and hit a drive but was blocked by Hassan. Zamalek coach Manuel Cajuda introduced Zaki instead of ineffective Mostafa Gaafar but the Egypt international striker didn't have much time to make an impact as Al-Adham doubled the lead for Masri one minute after re-start. Rabie capitalized on Abdul-Wahab's poor clearance inside the 18-yard box and sent a back pass to Al-Adham, who fired a powerful right-footed drive into the right-top corner of the net. Zamalek skipper Hazem Emam replaced Mohamed Aboul-Ela but the contest was already finished as Masri claimed precious three points.
