Two goals from burly striker Razak Omotoyossi handed Zamalek a deserved 2-0 victory at Ittihad of Alexandria as the Cairo club closed the gap on leading duo Harras El-Hodoud and Ahly in the Egyptian Premier League.
Chances were few and far between in a dull affair but Omotoyossi stole the limelight with a brace either side of the interval to give Zamalek their third consecutive league win.
The 26-year-old, who completed his move to Zamalek in September last year, took his tally to three league goals, having opened his account in the 1-1 draw with Petrojet earlier this month.
The success-starved side, who eye their first league crown since 2004, are third in the league table on 29 points from 12 games, one behind arch-rivals Ahly and two adrift of surprise leaders El-Hodoud.
The inconsistent Ittihad, who were due to be relegated to the second division but eventually remained in the top flight following an abrupt change of regulations, are tenth on 15 points.
Zamalek’s in-form keeper Abdel-Wahed El-Sayed blocked an early goal-scoring opportunity from the hosts, who were put on the back foot afterwards.
The visitors had the better possession but with only Mahmoud Abdel-Razek “Shikabala” playing as an attacking midfielder in the cautious strategy of coach Hassan Shehata, Zamalek struggled to carve out openings.
However, they managed to break the deadlock in the 25th minute when Omotoyossi beat his marker to a cross from right-back Ahmed Samir to head home.
Shehata introduced veteran midfielder Ahmed Hassan and promising forward Mohamed Ibrahim in the second half to improve Zamalek’s attacking display after Ittihad piled on pressure to level the score.
Hassan, who has scored seven league goals so far this season, was unlucky to see his fierce right-foot drive strike the crossbar with 15 minutes remaining.
Ittihad could have equalized shortly after when Ahmed Saber connected with a low cross from the left to fire a powerful drive from inside the area that was superbly tipped over by Egyptian international guardian El-Sayed.
The Alexandria club were made to pay for the miss in the 78th minute when Omotoyossi skipped past his marker before sending a precise low shot that bounced in front of the keeper and went into the bottom corner to ensure Zamalek’s win.
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