Zamalek failed to make use of Ahli's surprise home draw with Smouha to draw 1-1 with Ittihad in a fiery encounter in Alexandria. Hussein Yasser's first-half strike was cancelled out by Mahmoud Shaker after the break, with Zamalek star Shikabala receiving two bookings in no time after the Ittihad equalizer. Ahmed Gaafar missed a penalty that could prove decisive in Zamalek's season as Ittihad wave goodye to the Premier division. The draw keeps Zamalek five points adrift of defending champions Ahli with two weeks to go, while Ittihad are seven points off the safe zone. Abdul-Wahed saves…Yasser scores Hossam Hassan fielded the same eleven who drew with Ahli in the Cairo derby, led by under-fire captain Abdul-Wahed Al-Sayed. The Zamalek guardian made two crucial saves in the opening 17 minutes, blocking close-range efforts from Youssef Abudul-Rahim and Mohamed Zaki. Both teams looked set for the goalless draw after the evenly-balanced half, but the on-fire Yasser made sure his side have the lead before the break once again. Like he did last week against Ahli, the Qatar forward received a slick through pass from Shikabala and magnificently placed a delicate lob past Al-Hani Soliman. Tense opening and crucial miss The game took a huge twist only ten minutes after the break, with referee Fahim Omar facing a difficult time to control the hectic situation at Alexandria Stadium. Omar awarded Ittihad a 55th minute penalty when Hani Al-Egeizi's header hit the hands of Amr Al-Safti inside the area after the Zamalek player jumped with his arms in the air.
Yasser scored, won a penalty, but Gaafar missed Abdul-Wahed did brilliantly to thwart Shaker from the spot, only for the ball to bounce back to the Ittihad defender with the goal at his mercy to level the scoring. While most of Zamalek players didn't seem to protest much, star man Shikabala was particularly angry with the decision of the ref, who had to show the league's top scorer two bookings in quick succession for dissent. The Zamalek number 10 went out in rage, making signs to the home fans that their team will go down. The Whites were hardly affected by the exit of their star as they pushed forward after news came from Cairo that leaders Ahli were trailing against lowly Smouha. Zamalek players were unhappy with almost every decision made by Omar, but were relieved when the under-pressure ref awarded them a penalty on 69 minutes when Yasser was tackled by Al-Sayed Farid inside the area. The golden chance of giving Zamalek a priceless win was handed to Ahmed Gaafar, but for the third time this term, Hassan's side were denied from the spot as Soliman was there to make the vital save. From the point, both teams went gung-ho for the three points, but the finishing at either end was anything but efficient, with Ittihad surprisingly looking satisfied with the draw. The Alexandrian giants knew that one point would send them to the second division, yet they did little to capitalize on the one-man advantage. Zamalek missed a couple of chances to seal the precious win, with Al-Safti blasting a free header high and Soliman making another save from Yasser to keep it 1-1. The full Shikabala incident Ahmed Gaafar's penalty miss
