كتب : Omar AbdelAziz
For the first time ever, Zamalek played with an away purple outfit; a change that was made right before kickoff as hosts Gaish were wearing white socks. The game was delayed for 15 minutes for that purpose.
Egypt skipper Hassan scored his fourth goal in as many games as he seems to have been inspired by the Purple and White; the kit that saw him dazzle with Belgian giants Anderlecht few years ago.
But ex-Zamalek striker Ernest Papa Arko equalized for Gaish before half time with his third goal against his former club.
Zamalek were enraged by the performance of referee Gehad Greisha, claiming they should have had a penalty more than once.
Quick goals
Zamalek took the lead after 29 minutes thanks to a scruffy goal by Hassan, who saw his effort take a couple of deflections before slowly rolling into the net, following some excellent work by full-back Ahmed Samir.
Gaish were level after just four minutes when Arko notched home an exquisite cross from strike partner Salah Amin past Abdul-Wahed Al-Sayed.
Tripe penalty appeal against same defender!
In the sixth minute, Zamalek had an appeal for a penalty when Shikabala's cross hit the right hand of defender Sameh Hassan, but referee Greisha was not impressed.
Right after Hassan's goal, another claim was made by the Whites following a carbon-copy play involving Omar Gaber and the same defender.
And ironically, the ball hit the Gaish number 4's hand for a third time in the second half, yet the ref was still convinced it is unintentional.
Amr Zaki thought he had restored Zamalek’s lead after the break but this time the Egypt striker didn’t get a helping hand from the linesman as he was clearly offside before hitting the empty net.
While the decision was rather justified, a rash of insults against referee Greisha came from the stands, forcing the official to halt play for a minute, with Zamalek boss Hassan Shehata urging fans to stop for the team’s sake.
The ultra-defensive strategy of Farouk Gaafar’s men seemed to be working against his former Zamalek teammate Shehata as Gaish almost snatched a win near the end.
Despite relying on counter attack, Gaafar's side had the best two chances of the half by Arko and Ayman Hefni, but Zamalek captain Abdul-Wahed came to his side’s rescue with a couple of world-class saves.
As the match ended, referee Greisha was forced to stay on the pitch for a few minutes in order to avoid the thrown objects from the Zamalek stands, amid protests from the Whites' players as well.