Zamalek edged closer to the relegation zone after slumping to a 1-0 defeat to Ittihad in the Egyptian Premier League on Saturday. Newly-signed defender Mohamed Gaber scored the winner as early as the seventh minute to heap more misery on Zamalek, who are enduring one of their worst league runs in history. The White Knights' third consecutive defeat leaves them eighth in the 16-team table with 21 points, just three above the relegation zone. Zamalek have never been relegated to the second division. Ittihad, who look determined to guarantee their top-flight status earlier than the previous few seasons, moved into sixth spot with 23 points. Zamalek coach Michel Decastel introduced several youngsters and backups in the starting line-up. Diminutive striker Sherif Ashraf partnered new arrival Olie Koffi upfront as Gamal Hamza was left on the bench. Youngster Hazem Emam played as a right-back instead of Ahmed Ghanem and left-back Sabri Rahil, who joined Zamalek last month, made his debut. Ittihad had two new strikers in Hassan Mousa and Mohamed Ragab, who joined from Gaish and ENPPI respectively. The Alexandria-based club, motivated by their enthusiastic home crowd, needed seven minutes to open the scoring. Ragab rose unmarked to flick a right-wing corner into the path of Gaber, whose first-timer struck the hands of Zamalek keeper Abdul-Wahed Al-Sayed and found the net.
Ashraf was guilty of squandering two clear-cut opportunities that could have given Zamalek the equalizer. He twice went one-on-one with Ittihad Keeper Al-Hani Soliman but blasted his shots poorly wide. Ittihad almost doubled their lead on two occasions, thanks to a slack defending by Zamalek men. Sweeper Hani Saied dithered to clear the danger in the 36th minute to allow Ragab to rob him inside the area but the latter's inaccurate shot missed the target. Four minutes before the break, Al-Sayed produced a superb reflex save to block Mahmoud Shaker's point-blank header. Tears Despite the introduction of Hamza and veteran striker Abdul-Halim Ali in the second half, Zamalek failed to up the tempo and their tame efforts were thwarted by Ittihad defense. The Cairo giants' sole opportunity came 11 minutes after the restart when Mahmoud Fathallah was picked out at the far post but his shot was superbly denied by Soliman. Talented winger Mahmoud Abdul-Razek 'Shikabala', who missed the game after being involved in a bust-up with Zamalek fans last week, was caught on TV cameras shedding tears. Zamalek supporters hurled insults against their own players while Ittihad fans sarcastically chanted 'they will go down'. Watch Gaber's goal
