Star defender Mahmoud Fathallah was the villain as he missed his second penalty in less than a week, forcing the save of the game from ENPPI keeper Mohamed Abou-Gabal.

Zamalek remain top of the table with a five-point gap ahead of Ismaili, who defeated Gouna on Monday. ENPPI remained fifth on 28 points.

Dull first half

Zamalek’s Qatari forward Hussein Yasser returned to the starting line-up after being relegated to the bench in the last two victories over Harras Hodoud and Petrojet.

Both managers seemed a bit conservative as one striker led the line at either end of the pitch, with Ahmed Gaafar retaining his place in Zamalek attack, while Ahmed Raouf spearheaded ENPPI’s frontline.

There was hardly a shot on target during the first 45 minutes, leaving goalkeepers Abdul-Wahed Al-Sayed and Abou-Gabal with little work to do before the break.

Fathallah’s miss

Hassan brought on Ivorian striker Abou Kone for full-back Ahmed Katwai at half time in an attempt to beef up his ineffectual frontline.

Five minutes after the break, ENPPI conceded the softest of penalties when veteran defender Abdul-Zaher Al-Saqqa lost his footing and stumbled upon Kone, only to find himself diving into Gaafar’s body inside the area.

Fathallah, who missed from the spot in the previous game at Petrojet, once again failed to find the net as Abou-Gabal was there to deny him.

ENPPI hardly gained something from the momentum given by their keeper’s save, while Zamalek kept the pressure on in search of their third win in a row.

Despite their obvious determination to pull off another late win, Zamalek’s frontline seemed short of ideas, with star man Shikabala looking a shadow of his usual self.

The confident Abou-Gabal made another fine save to deny Kone 15 minutes from time, in what proved to be Zamalek’s best chance of the game.