Harras Hodoud capitalized on Zamalek's misery and beat them 1-0 at Cairo stadium on Monday in a rescheduled Egyptian League match. Ahmed Abdul-Ghani scored the game's winner three minutes after the hour mark upon converting a penalty-kick. Having won the game, the Alexandria-based club leaped to the third place with 22 points, trailing Leaders Petrojet by six. Zamalek, whose loss came days after giving coach Reiner Hollmann the sack, kept languishing at the sixth place with only 18 points. With Monday's defeat, the White Knights extended their Egyptian League winless streak to five matches, during which they scored only one goal. Hodoud Impress The visitors came on with all guns blazing, looking for an early opener against an out-of-sorts Zamalek, who were a bit dangerous on the counter-attack within the first ten minutes. Zamalek had the first chance when Mahmoud Abdul-Razeq 'Shikabala' earned a free-kick in a good position on seven minutes, but his shot went over the bar. As the Cairo giants were trying in vain to pull themselves together, the Alexandrian team intensified pressure from both flanks, whipping in a multitude of crosses. Ahmed Eid tried his luck from long-range, but his powerful shot went straight to Abdul-Wahed Al-Sayed's palms. Hodoud's Mohamed Al-Herda tried to earn an undeserved penalty-kick when he dived in the box for no apparent reason, but the referee didn't fall for his crude trick.
Shikabala couldn't rescue Zamalek Ahmed Salama was about to break the deadlock from point-blank range, but Zamalek's piled-up defenders blocked his effort. Although their possession diminished, the home side had several clear-cut opportunities. Sherif Ashraf could have flicked the ball to Shikabala, who was sprinting unmarked down the right wing, but the former instead cannoned a shot that drifted wide of the mark. Ashraf, who came through Ahli's youth ranks, squandered another chance when he cut inside with aplomb, but his low shot missed the target by a nuance. Hodoud were keen to open the scoring before the interval and maintained their pressure on Zamalek, whose rearguard blunders could have cost them dearly. Ahmed Abdul-Ghani, the away side's top scorer, was too close for comfort in the dying minutes, but his last-gasp tame free-kick missed the net by inches. Tarek Al-Ashri's men kept the upper hand after the restart and carried on their riveting display. The 11-time Egyptian champions, on the other hand, couldn't cope with Hodoud's onslaught, and the latter took a stranglehold on the game. The visitors took the lead when referee Medhat Abdul-Aziz controversially signaled for a penalty-kick after forward Ahmed Salama was subjected to a challenge by Ahmed Abdul-Raouf. Later on, the White fans jeered the referee for several minutes, which prompted the latter to stop the match for a short while. Amr Al-Dali could have doubled the lead when he rifled a goal-wards shot minutes before the final whistle, but it went inches over the bar.
