Ahmed Eid (R) of al-Zamalik and Hosam Ashour of al-Ahly fight for the ball during their Egyptian Premier League soccer match in Cairo, January 29, 2015 (Photo: Reuters)
Egyptian league leaders Zamalek failed to overcome their Ahly jinx after playing out a 1-1 draw with their arch rivals at Air Defense Stadium on Thursday.
In a match characterised by sloppy pieces of goalkeeping, hosts Zamalek were in front after 32 minutes through midfield marvel Ayman Hefni, before Walid Soliman restored parity with a free kick just two minutes later.
Ahly keeper Mosaad Awad and Zamalek guardian Ahmed El-Shennawy are to be held accountable for the goals they conceded, as both teams' defense looked relatively solid on the night.
Zamalek remain in charge of the league table with 41 points, eight ahead of third-placed Ahly, who still have a game in hand.
Poor pieces of goalkeeping earn goals
Zamalek looked the determined side in the opening minutes, pressing their opponents from the front in an attempt to thwart Ahly's attacks at the beginning their buildups.
With Zamalek in control during the first 20 minutes, it was Ahmed Eid who looked his side's man source of danger down the left, beating full-back Bassem Ali with his outstanding dribbling skills on numerous occasions.
The first genuine threat on goal, however, was posed by Ahly winger Walid Soliman – whose stunning strike from inside the area was denied by the bar after keeper Ahmed El-Shennawy got a hand to it.
The league leaders then replied with another shot from Hazem Emam that went high of the bar after a good combination with Hefni.
From that point, dazzling playmaker Hefni gradually grew into the game with his brilliant pieces of skill and outstanding pace, having found pockets of space in Ahly's own half.
After Hefni wasted a big chance from inside the area, where he could have done much better, Ahly attacking midfielder Mahmoud Hassan 'Trezeguet' came close with a curling strike that went narrowly wide.
Hefni, however, was soon to celebrate a goal, and indeed opened the scoring with a cross-cum-shot from the left hand side of the area that eluded keeper Awad as Zamalek took the lead.
But Zamalek's celebrations were not to remain for long, with Ahly attacking midfielder Soliman scoring a free kick, capitalising on Egypt goalie El-Shennawy's slack goalkeeping.
The Whites did not look stable after the goal, and Ahly could have taken advantage of their opponents' state, but striker Emad Meteb and full-back Bassem failed to give their side the edge.
Actionless second half
Zamalek overcame their shock in the second half, as they looked the better side after the break, with Eid and Hefni continuing to dazzle.
But despite Zamalek's first-half substitution, which saw them bring combative striker Bassem Morsy instead of the ineffectual Ahmed Ali, the former often looked isolated upfront – with him coming towards play on several occasions.
The linesman, however, denied Zamalek what could have been a certain chance to score after adjudging a through-on-goal Morsy to have fallen in an offside positon with two other Zamalek attackers ready to break as well.
Both sides looked to have run out of gas at the final stages of the game, with Ahly introducing strikers Saladdin Said and Ahmed Abdel-Zaher who barely made a difference.
On the other side, Zamalek introduced Mohamed Koffi to play in the middle of midfield but was at times guilty of making not the best of decisions, as both sides settled for a draw.
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