Mido's competitive debut with Zamalek was an experience to forget as his side suffered a stunning 2-1 home defeat to Petrojet in the Egyptian Premier League. Home fans chanted his name to urge coach Michel Decastel to introduce him in the second half when striker Al-Sayed Hamdi struck home to cancel out Shikabala's opener for Zamalek. The Swiss tactician listened to their plea as Mido, who is on loan from English side Middlesbrough, replaced ineffective striker Ahmed Gaafar three minutes past the hour mark. The towering striker could have made it a night to remember when Zamalek were awarded a penalty after a handball by Petrojet defender Karim Zekri. After some discussions with his teammates, Mido picked the ball and composed himself properly but his low spot-kick went wide of the post. He shook his head in disbelief. "Mido is not responsible for the defeat. The team, as a whole, is responsible," Zamalek assistant coach Abdul-Halim Ali said after the game. Substitute Walid Soliman headed home with one minute remaining to give Petrojet, who finished third last season, all three points as they made it two wins out of two matches. "We respected Zamalek, but did not fear them," Petrojet coach Mokhtar Mokhtar told reporters after the game.
Ahli secure second successive win "I told my players before the game there was no need to be afraid of our opponents, and they lived up to my expectations." Ahli, who began the defense of their title with a 2-0 win over Ghazl Mahalla, also bagged maximum points after coming from behind to overcome Police Union 2-1. They have done so despite playing the majority of the game without a recognized striker. They missed frontmen Francis Doe, Mohamed Fadl, Ahmed Belal and Osama Hosni - who were all injured. Ahli coach Hossam Al-Badri fielded Hani Al-Egeizi as a lone striker but he failed to impress and was replaced with Angolan winger Gilberto before the break. "We were not going to blame the players if the match ended in a draw but they rose to the occasion and played very well," the Red Devils' assistant coach Alaa Maihoub commented. Defensive Woes Egyptian Cup holders Harras Hodoud made up for their disappointing 1-1 draw with Police Union by claiming a remarkable victory over Gaish. Hodoud were trailing Gaish by two goals before staging a superb comeback to win 3-2, thanks to coach Tarek Al-Ashri's brave substitutions. The highly-respected tactician, who believes Hodoud can be serious title contenders this season, played with four natural strikers in the second half as his side piled on pressure and overturned the deficit.
Ismaili pay for defensive blunders Ismaili's defensive woes once again cost them as they slumped to a 3-2 home defeat to ENPPI. The Dervishes' coach Nebojsa Vuckovic used the same 4-4-2 formation he deployed in the 2-2 opening draw with promoted Mansoura. Central defensive pair Moatasem Salem and Abdul-Hamid Sami left huge gaps at the back to allow ENPPI's Ivorian striker Zeka Goore to score twice and sink the last season's runners-up. "The 4-4-2 formation is not responsible for that result," Ismaili assistant coach Ahmed Al-Agouz told the post-match press conference. "The problem is that our players still lack harmony. We were also affected by the absence of (skipper) Mohamed Hommos, (midfielder) Ahmed Khairi and (winger) Omar Gamal." Masri widened the misery of error-ridden Ghazl Mahalla, who were easily beaten by Ahli in their first match, with a crushing 3-0 victory. Mahalla players were booed off the pitch by their own fans, who cheered for Masri in the latter stages of the game. Newcomers Gouna, who spent big in the close season to bolster their squad, are yet to enjoy their first win after sharing honors with Mansoura in a 1-1 draw. Gouna and Mansoura have two points each from as many games.
