Zamalek's assistant coach Tarek Soliman blamed his players for the staggering 1-0 league loss to MCDR, saying they were unorganized and didn't follow the coaching staff's instructions. "That was Zamalek's worst game this season … the players ignored our directives," he said after the match. Title holders Ahli are now keeping pace with leaders Zamalek on 46 points. MCDR played for over an hour with a man down after Hussein Hamdi was sent off on 35 minutes. The dismissal barely had an impact on the top-flight minnows. "We didn't make the most of MCDR's numerical disadvantage, it was Zamalek who seem to be playing with ten men," added Soliman. "Our display was terrible and we were also affected by MCDR's tight marking on Hussein Yasser and Shikabala."