Zamalek's midfielder Omar Gaber (L) during a league game against Petrojet (Photo: Bassam El-Zogby)
Zamalek hopes maintaining a high note were thrashed after Monday's 1-1 draw against Ittihad El-Shorta in the Egyptian Premier League.
Despite being boosted with last week's 1-0 win against Niger's Douanes and securing a place in the CAF Champions League round of 32, Zamalek continued their domestic league drama with their second draw of the season on Monday.
The Whites were seeking a moral victory as they are preparing to host Kabuscorp of Angola in Cairo on 1 March in the first leg of the Champions League round of 32, but it wasn't their day.
The draw left Zamalek retreating to the fifth place in the Egyptian league table with 14 points, six behind leaders Petrojet. Getting a precious point, El-Shorta climbed to sixth place with 12 points.
Zamalek players dominated for the game's first 15 minutes, but ultimately failed to produce a real threat.
El-Shorta players quickly restored the balance, controlling most of the remaining time of the first half by putting pressure on the Whites goalkeeper Abdel-Wahed El-Sayed with a number of counter-attacks.
Real action came early on the second half after a dull performance in the first with Zamalek's rookie coach Mido pushing midfielder Omar Gamal early in a bid to refresh his attacking line.
The efficient strategy in the new half paid off as winger Hazem Emam managed to give Zamalek the lead as he was sent clear by Momen Zakarya to score the opener on 56 minutes.
El-Shorta's coach reacted quickly making one substitution that posed an immediate threat to Zamalek's goal.
In the 75th minute substitute Mohamed Maged met a rebound denied by Zamalek keeper Abdel-Wahed, firing the ball into the net to score the equalizer for El-Shorta.
In the dying minutes, both teams tired to double the score but they failed as the referee blew the final whistle.
Earlier in the day Ismaily gave new coach Heron Ricardo a winning debut after beating Group leaders Petrojet 1-0. Ghanaian striker John Antwi fired from the spot to earn the Dervishes their 19th point of the season and move within a point from Petrojet.
Ittihad of Alexandria maintained their unbeaten run as they beat Gouna 1-0 while Haras El-Hodoud claimed a precious away victory over Wadi Degla 1-0.
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