A second-half header by Amr Zaki earned Zamalek a hard-fought 1-0 home victory over Asyut Petroleum on Wednesday and a place in the Egyptian Cup final. The Egypt international striker, who has recently committed his future to Zamalek, notched the decisive goal 14 minutes from time as the Cairo giants are aiming to snatch their first piece of silverware in three years. Zamalek will face either Ahli or Ismaili, who will meet each other in the other semi-final tie later on Thursday. Asyut surprisingly had the upper hand in the first-half, wasting several opportunities to grab a shocking opener. They could have stunned the home crowd as early as the second minute when Sami Abou-Zeid latched on to Hamdi Seif's through pass but his low shot was blocked by Zamalek keeper Mohamed Abdul-Monsef. Zamalek's defensive display was heavily affected by the absence of Tunisian Wissem El-Abdi and Amr Al-Safti due to suspension. The Cairo giants' midfield duo Mohamed Aboul-Ella and Ahmed Abdul-Raouf were lost in the middle of the pitch and couldn't halt Asyut's continued attempts to break the deadlock. Zamalek had the first chance in the 10th minute when Abdul-Halim Ali's shot from a tight angle was tipped over by Asyut keeper Khaled Al-Agawi. Seven minutes later, Zaki struck the net but his goal was ruled out by referee Samir Othman, who blew his whistle after Ali pushed Al-Agawi in the build up to the goal. Zamalek defender Wael Al-Qabani curled a free-kick that went just over the bar in the 29th minute.
Mohamed Ibrahim, who is linked with a move to Zamalek's arch-rivals Ahli, wasted a golden opportunity to put Asyut ahead in the 33rd minute. A brilliant give-and-go released Abou-Zeid in the left flank before his low cross picked out the unmarked Ibrahim, whose poor shot was blocked by the onrushing Abdul-Monsef. In the second-period, Zaki moved to the left-flank where he imposed a constant threat through his pinpoint crosses, a new role given to the prolific hitman by French boss Henri Michel. Ali rose above his marker to head Zaki's inch-perfect cross just wide of the post on the hour mark. Asyut's hopes suffered a huge blow in the 72nd minute after Adel Abdul-Aziz was sent-off for a second bookable offense after tugging Zaki's shirt. Two minutes later, Asyut again squandered a glorious chance which could have embarrassed Zamalek when Ashour Al-Taqui went clear on goal but his effort strangely flew high over. Zamalek capitalized on their numerical advantage shortly after when Ali's cross from the right picked out Zaki at the far post and the former ENPPI striker sent a glancing header into the back of the net. Substitute Hazem Emam almost doubled the lead five minutes from time when he received Mahmoud Abdul-Razeq 'Shikabala' superb back-heel inside the area but his close-range effort went wide. Aboul-Ella received his marching orders in stoppage time for a harsh tackle as he will miss Zamalek's most important clash of the season against either Ahli or Ismaili.
