Harras Hodoud's assistant coach Abou-Taleb Al-Essawi admitted that Zamalek deserved to emerge winners in Thursday's league match. A ten-man Zamalek side fought back to overturn a one-goal deficit and end the game in a 2-1 victory. During the post-match news conference, Al-Essawi said: "I would like to salute Zamalek's players for their performance that saw them come from a goal down to deservedly snatch a win." A wonder goal by Mohamed Al-Herda, his first in three years, gave Hodoud an early lead but Ahmed Gaafar equalized for the Whites before halftime. The leveler was followed by a red card to Zamalek defender Amr Al-Safti, but the Cairo outfit made light of their numerical disadvantage as they were lifted by a late strike from Ashour Al-Adham. "After taking the lead, we retreated to bolster our defense and depended on counter attacks," Al-Essawi said. "The chance that fell to Ahmed Abdul-Ghani in the second half could have ended the game but (keeper) Abdul-Wahed Al-Sayed successfully denied him in the one-on-one. "We played without seven key figures, which took a toll on our display. That's why we didn't deserve to win. I hope we can redeem ourselves fast."
