A hat-trick of free kicks from dazzling forward Shikabala gave the league leaders a narrow 4-3 home victory over the struggling Ittihad, who played with ten men for around an hour following the dismissal of defender Al-Sayed Farid.

"I'm not satisfied with the performance despite the victory," Hassan, who has become the first Zamalek coach since 2002 to remain in the club's hot seat for more than one year, told the post-match news conference.

"We can't give our opponents the chance to hit us on the break in a match that we supposedly control.

"The players should have been greedy. They had several chances to kill off the match but they could not seize them, thus making matters more difficult for them."

Ex-Zamalek striker Hani Al-Egeizi scored twice as Ittihad were 15 minutes short of sharing honors but a curling Shikabala free kick broke their hearts at Cairo Stadium.

The White Knights moved seven points clear at the top of the table as they seek to win their first league title since 2004.

"We have to continue working hard to achieve our target. It has been six years since Zamalek last won the league, so we have to remain solid," Hassan added.

Ittihad remained second from bottom after suffering their second consecutive defeat under new coach Mohamed Amer.

Amer took over at the club following the sacking of Brazilian coach Carlos Cabral last month.

"We produced a fine display despite the loss. We conceded all the goals from set pieces," Amer commented.