Zamalek came back from a two-goal deficit to beat Telecom Egypt 4-2 in the Egyptian League on Friday and put aside their Champions League woes. The visitors fell behind to two first-half goals from Wael Riad and Tarek Al-Sayed, who scored against the club that released him in the close season. Talented forward Gamal Hamza pulled one back just before the break. Zamalek came into the second-half with all guns blazing to overturn the deficit and claim a precious victory. Defender Mahmoud Fathallah equalized from the spot as Telecom midfielder Mostafa Shebeita received a red card in the process. Two goals from substitutes Mostafa Gaafar and Mahmoud Samir gave Zamalek a much-needed win. A negative result would have been unbearable, given that Zamalek were recently eliminated from the CAF Champions League after finishing bottom of Group A. Telecom finished with nine men on the pitch after Moataz Hamed received his marching orders for a second bookable offense. Zamalek also had Mohamed Abdullah dismissed towards the end. The victory lifted Zamalek to second spot in the league table with 10 points, just one behind leaders Petrojet, who played two extra games. Telecom have the same amount of points but they slipped to fifth due to their inferior goal difference to ENPPI, Ismaili and Zamalek. No Support Zamalek's attacking duo Hamza and Junior Agogo were isolated upfront. Playmaker Abdullah was a peripheral figure throughout the first 45 minutes. The Cairo giants were also suffering at the back. The absence of influential defender Hani Saied paved the way for Telecom to expose Zamalek's defense more than once. Telecom went ahead after four minutes when diminutive midfielder Riad caught Zamalek's defenders napping to rise unmarked and head home Mohamed Ibrahim's free-kick from the left. Goalkeeper Abdul-Wahed Al-Sayed, who impressed against Dynamos in the Champions League, attempted to punch the ball but Riad reacted quicker to stun the White Knights. Zamalek were restricted to some efforts from Hamza and Agogo but the duo were not helped by the out-of-sorts midfielders. In the sixth minute, Ghanaian frontman Agogo released Hamza with a deft through pass inside the area.
Al-Sayed scored against his former club The talented forward gathered the ball, overcame Ibrahim's challenge with a smart trick but two more defenders intercepted to block his close-range shot. Natural left-back Al-Sayed, who played as a forward against Zamalek, haunted his old club by doubling Telecom's lead three minutes before the break, thanks to a dreadful defensive blunder. Amr Al-Safti's poor headed clearance fell to Telecom's Ugandan striker Geoffrey Massa, who fed Al-Sayed and the latter went clear on goal before firing a powerful shot into the roof of the net. Zamalek were lucky to narrow the gap in the first-half's additional time after another combination between Hamza and Agogo. Agogo collected a long ball at the far post before sending a low cross that eluded goalkeeper Amir Tawfeeq and found Hamza, who escaped his marker to notch home into an empty net. Successful Comeback Zamalek coach Reiner Hollmann threw caution to the wind as he introduced a third striker in Gaafar, who replaced ineffective midfielder Ahmed Abdul-Raouf. The introduction of the former Baladeya man, who repeatedly expressed his frustration at lack of first-team opportunities, proved to be fruitful. He almost leveled the score five minutes after the restart when he went one-on-one with Tawfeeq, who eventually cleared the danger. Agogo, who looked furious, was also replaced by veteran striker Abdul-Halim Ali. Zamalek piled on pressure and managed to restore parity six minutes past the hour mark. The below-par Tawfeeq failed to deal with Abdullah's right-wing cross. Hamza rushed to poke into an empty net but he collided with Shebeita, who slipped to unintentionally handle the ball. The referee pointed to the spot and Shebeita was sent-off after collecting a second booking. Spot-kick specialist Fathallah stepped-up to wrong-foot Tawfeeq and fire into the top corner. He is currently Zamalek's top scorer in the league with three goals. Gaafar put Zamalek ahead nine minutes from time when he nodded in from close range after capitalizing on Riad's failure to clear a harmless low cross from the left. Samir, who joined Zamalek from Arab Contractors in the close season but is yet to establish himself as a regular starter, ensured the victory in stoppage time with a brilliant individual effort. He skipped past three defenders to create space for himself before smacking a vicious right-footed shot that went into the bottom corner of the net.
