A second-half strike from Shikabala proved to be the winner as Zamalek edged out Masri 2-1 behind closed doors. A first half stalemate saw youngster Ahmed Tawfik net his first-ever goal for Zamalek, only for Abdoulaye Cisse to level for Masri before the break. Shikabala grabbed the victory for the hosts in the 73rd minute with his second of the season. Zamalek's third win in a row put them back in fourth place, whereas Masri remain eighth after suffering a second straight defeat. Tawfik V Cisse Hassan Shehata kept top scorer Ahmed Hassan on the bench for the first time as Ahmed Gaafar and Hussein Hamdi retained their places upfront. But the strike partners hardly had a shot on target in the first half, with the opener coming from an unlikely source of goals. Midfielder Tawfik followed a loose ball poorly cleared by the Masri defense to fire home past Olympic teammate Ahmed Al-Shennawi before the half hour. Five minutes before the break, Masri were level when Burkina Faso striker Abdoulaye Cisse applied a brilliant one-two with Mahmoud Abdul-Hakim to break Zamalek's backline and beat Abdul-Wahed Al-Sayed with a little lob. Shika makes the difference The pairing of Hamdi-Gaafar didn't seem to be paying dividends for Zamalek upfront and Shehata had to ring the changes by introducing Hassan and Razak Omotoyossi. Benin's Omotoyossi was able to refresh the frontline with his movement and eventually set up Shikabala with the winner on 73 minutes. Last season's top scorer Shikabala finished off a quick counter move with a low strike past Al-Shennawi for his first open-play goal of the season. The goal proved enough for the Whites to bag the three points in a pretty dull affair in the absence of fans.
