Mahmoud Abdul-Razeq 'Shikabala' notched twice to lead Zamalek to a crushing 3-0 away victory over Harras Al-Hodoud in an ill-tempered Egyptian League clash on Saturday. The former PAOK Saloniki playmaker opened the scoring after a breakdown in communications in Al-Hodoud's backline early in the first-half before Abdul-Halim Ali added the second six minutes after re-start. Shikabala was on target again two minutes past the hour mark through a powerful drive as Zamalek continued their push for a CAF Champions League spot next season. Al-Hodoud finished the match with nine men on the field after Abdul-Salam Nagah and Ahmed Eid were sent-off while Zamalek had to play most of the game with ten men following Ahmed Ghanem's dismissal. Zamalek are third in the league table with 59 points and one game in hand, two short of second-placed Ismaili who played one match more. Despite the defeat, Al-Hodoud are still fourth on 28 points but Ghazl Mahalla could leapfrog them if they beat ENPPI later on Sunday. Shikabala did make Al-Hodoud pay for a terrible defensive mistake after just five minutes as every defender but Eid pushed out from his free-kick, leaving Zamalek defender Wissem El-Abdi alone in the area. After their attempt to make the offside trap failed, Shikabala's free-kick went straight into the back of the net as El-Abdi couldn't touch the ball to put his name on the score sheet. Six minutes later, Al-Hodoud keeper Ali Farag couldn't handle Shikabala's cross from the right-flank but the whites' striker Ali didn't capitalize. Zamalek's defensive midfielder Alaa Abdul-Ghani had to be replaced in the 14th minute after sustaining an injury, making way for Ahmed Abdul-Raaouf.
The home side had their first chance one minute later when Eid's pass released Amr Allam, whose shot from inside the area went poorly wide. Zamalek right-back Ghanem received his marching orders in the 34th minute after an off-ball punch to Eid. The remaining minutes of the first-half didn't witness any real opportunities from both sides as the players were busy making arguments in every single free-kick amid heavy boos from the crowd. Al-Hodoud boss introduced attacking duo Ahmed Abdul-Ghani and Abdul-Hamid Bassiouni in a bid to capitalize on Zamalek's numerical disadvantage. However, the substitutes didn't have much time to make an impact as Ali doubled the lead in the 51st minute. After the helpless Farag poorly parried a cross into the path of Shikabala, the 21-year-old sent a cross at the far post to Gamal Hamza, who headed the ball to Ali for a simple nod-in from close range. Nagah received a straight red card the 58th minute for elbowing Zamalek midfielder Tamer Abdul-Hamid. Shikabala completed the rout in the 62nd minute when his left-footed unstoppable bullet found its way into the back of the net. Eid followed in the footsteps of Nagah one minute from time following a second booking for diving inside the area.
