Shikabala scored a superlative freekick in the sixth minute of injury time to hand Zamalek a dramatic 1-0 victory over Smouha. It was a debut game for new Smouha manager Shawki Gharib, who almost frustrated his close friend and former colleague Hassan Shehata with a goalless draw in Alexandria. Shehata's men had over 25 goal attempts but were consistently denied by their opposition's resilient defense and a heroic performance from Palestine keeper Ramzi Saleh. But Gharib had to settle for a debut defeat as Shikabala finally beat Saleh with a trade-mark set piece in the dying moments of the game. Zamalek retain second place with 10 points from four games, only a single point adrift of defending champions Ahli, who played a game more. One-way traffic It was a one-side game in favor of the Whites who faced very little menace from the win-less Smouha at the Alexandria Stadium. Former Ahli keeper Saleh thwarted Ibrahim Salah before denying Mahmoud Fathallah in the best chance of the first half but had to deal with threats from everywhere after the break. Shikabala had a well-taken freekick saved brilliantly by the Smouha keeper, before trying a couple more unsuccessful shots from range, while Amr Zaki had three goal attempts that went marginally wide. Despite the stalemate, Zamalek boss Shehata opted to keep fit-again striker Mido on the bench for the whole game as he introduced midfielders Hazem Emam, Omar Gaber and Mohamed Ibrahim. Miss of the season…goal ! A crazy 90th minute saw Zamalek have three clear-cut chances to snatch a win in the space of seconds before Shikabala's dramatic winner. Substitute Ibrahim had a close-range shot heroically blocked before an unmarked Fathallah was shockingly denied by Saleh from point-blank range. However, the chance was still on as the ball fell into the mercy of Ibrahim, only for the youngster to blast high in front of an empty net, in what could be regarded as the miss of the season so far. The desperate Zamalek thought they are heading into a frustrating stalemate, but deep into stoppage time, talisman Shikabala grabbed his first of the season in superb fashion.
