Last season's stunning Egyptian Cup elimination at the hands of third-tier Bani Obeid remains fresh in the memory of Zamalek, who open their new campaign against another lower division on Saturday. The Cairo side, whose only hope of silverware this term lies in Egypt's secondary competition, should face no difficulty in overcoming second-division side Fayoum away from home. But they no longer take anything for granted. They could not get beyond the first round last season, when they were the title holders, after losing 1-0 to Obeid in a night to forget. Zamalek were naturally on the receiving end of taunts and jeers from their own crowd. The fans of their arch-rivals Ahli could not also spurn the chance to mock their foes on internet message boards. "We fully respect Fayoum. We should respect any team we face in the cup," Zamalek assistant coach Tarek Soliman told FilGoal.com. "This competition is full of surprises, and we should learn from past mistakes. We don't want a repeat of what happened against Bani Obeid. "We finished runners up in the Egyptian league but this will count for nothing against Fayoum." Zamalek's last triumph came in 2008 when they won the Egyptian Cup after defeating ENPPI in the final. They are expected to set up a meeting against Ahli in the next round if they overcome Fayoum.
