Gaish's new coach Farouk Gaafar enjoyed a winning debut as his side handed Zamalek their first Egyptian League defeat with a 1-0 home victory on Friday. Ernest Papa Arko scored against his former club in the 29th minute to give Gaish a much-needed victory after the military side lost their last two games. Gaafar, who took over following the sacking of Sabri Al-Miniawi, wouldn't have hoped for a better start at the helm. It was Gaish's third straight home win over Zamalek, who failed to claim a fourth successive league victory. Zamalek slipped to the third spot of the league table with 13 points, four behind leaders Petrojet. However, the Cairo giants still have two games in hand. Gaish, who finished fourth last term, moved to ninth place on nine points. Papa Arko almost stunned Zamalek on the quarter-hour mark when he ghosted behind the static defense to connect with a right-wing free-kick, but he blasted poorly wide with the goal at his mercy. The Ghanaian striker made amends when he capitalized on a rebound to fire the hosts in front. Zamalek keeper Abdul-Wahed Al-Sayed pushed Hossam Abdul-Aal's curling free-kick into his path before he applied the finishing touch from close range. Despite falling behind, a rusty Zamalek side failed to mount a serious threat on Gaish goal. Their natural central midfielder Mohamed Aboul-Ella failed to serve as a playmaker, leaving Gamal Hamza and Mostafa Gaafar isolated upfront. The striking duo was also not helped by lethargic left-back Ricardo Alves nor did they found support from Mohamed Ibrahim down the right.
Winning start for Gaafar Skipper Ayman Abdul-Also and his midfield partner Ahmed Magdi also failed to contain Gaish pacey men. Wastefulness Gaish's only sight of goal in the second half came three minutes after the restart. Yassin Abdul-Aal took advantage of some sloppy defending to go clear on goal but his poor low shot was easily collected by Al-Sayed. Gaish sat back to defend their lead afterwards, but they were lucky not to concede as their defense was exposed on numerous occasions. Had Zamalek forwards converted their chances, Gaafar would have been left ruing his decision to deploy a pure defensive strategy. Gaafar laid off the ball to Hamza inside the area but the talented forward's shot went wide of the post. Gaish keeper Wael Khalifa pulled off a string of impressive saves to deny several clear-cut chances from Zamalek. Gaafar and Hamza went one-on-one with Khalifa on two occasions but the 31-year-old keeper brilliantly thwarted their efforts. Zamalek coach Reiner Hollmann introduced attacking midfielders Mohamed Abdullah and Mahmoud Samir in a bid to increase his side's attacking options. Veteran striker Abdul-Halim Ali, who was heavily criticized by Zamalek fans for failing to find the net since May, was also introduced but did little to ease the supporters' anger. Four minutes from time, he was picked out unmarked by Hamza's pinpoint cross but he mis-hit his shot with the goal gaping. Watch the match's goal
