Zamalek beat Masri 3-0 at home to end their Egyptian Premier League four-match winless run and register their first victory under newly-appointed coach Hossam Hassan. Forty-three-year-old Hassan took charge at the Cairo club early this month after the sacking of his predecessor Henri Michel, whose short stint at the Cairo club was by far fruitless. Under Hassan's management the White Knights lost 2-1 to Harras Hodoud and played out a goalless draw with Ahli, before putting in a promising performance to defeat Masri. After the game, the former Egypt skipper stressed that his players have to exert huge efforts to regain their form. "Patience is always a key to success," he told Nile Sports. "We still have a lot of work to do in order to get back to normal and vie for the league title with Ahli at the top of the league table. "I promise that I will lead a turnaround in the club's fortunes." Zamalek's much-needed win over Masri saw duo Hazem Emam and Ahmed Gaafar hit their maiden senior-team goals, the latter player hit a brace. Moreover, Mido, who has been out of form over the past few months, has evidently lost weight and seems close to hitting peak form. The towering striker wasted a host of clear-cut opportunities against Masri, all the same, Hassan dished out praise for him. "He (Mido) was restless on the pitch and has always been influential, he's not lucky enough though," he added. Now Zamalek are in 12th place with 15 points, three above the relegation zone. Lengthy Race
Honors were even between Ismaili and Ahli Elsewhere, Ahli failed to defeat ten-man Ismaili and were held to a 1-1 draw. The home side were outnumbered for more than half an hour after Moatasem Salem was dismissed nearly on the hour mark for two bookable offences either side of the interval. Ahli notably capitalized on their opponents' numerical disadvantage and took a stranglehold on the game, but couldn't to claim all three points. The Cairo giants had to do without midfield trio Mohamed Abou-Treika, Mohamed Barakat and Moataz Eno who were all out through injury, which clearly affected the team. On the other hand, Ahli's frontline duo Emad Meteb and Francis Doe made their return after shaking off respective injuries. The draw left defending champions Ahli four points clear on top of the league table, and Ismaili in fourth place with 23 points, trailing the leaders by six. Now Red Devils' assistant coach Alaa Maihoub is convinced that the title race will be lengthy. "Both teams were praiseworthy," Maihoub told the post-match press conference. "Ahli were aiming to win and that's why we deployed two strikers in Emad Meteb and Mohamed Fadl. "The road to the title is still long, and now we need to win all our upcoming games to stay on top of the league table." Ahli also drew with Zamalek and Ittihad in their previous league games, thanks to the unavailability of a number of their regular figures. More Games
Petrojet Petrojet spurned an opportunity to close the gap on Ahli after being held to a goalless draw by ENPPI on Saturday. The second-placed petroleum side could have closed to within two points of Ahli if they had won. Petrojet could have even lost the game in the latter stages when defender Karim Zekri had to play as a goalkeeper after guardian Ahmed Fawzi was sent off with all three substitutions made. Fawzi was handed a straight red card when he needlessly rushed out of his goal and allegedly fouled ENPPI's Ivorian striker Zeka Goore just outside the box. Gaish, who were level on points with Petrojet, also failed to narrow the gap with Ahli after slumping to a surprising 1-0 defeat to an inconsistent Ghazl Mahalla side. After losing their two opening games this season, Farouk Gaafar's side notably improved and enjoyed a fruitful run. The military side were making an impressive progress of late and advanced to third spot, which they are still holding onto. Gouna surprisingly beat Harras Hodoud 2-0 to end their six-match winless streak and move to 13th place on 14 points, two points clear of the relegation zone. Ittihad registered their biggest win this season, their fourth overall, after spanking bottom side Asyut Petroleum, who haven't won a single game this season, 4-0. Mansoura remained in penultimate place after being handed their fourth successive loss by Arab Contractors. Military Production and Police Union played out a 1-1 draw.
