Zamalek's midfielder Emam Ashour scored two second-half goals against Talae El-Gaish (Photo: Zamalek twitter account)
A splendid display by rising midfielder Emam Ashour fired Zamalek up to the top of the Egyptian Premier League after their 3-0 win against Talae El-Gaish on Saturday.
The talented 22-year-old playmaker netted twice in the second half to secure the full points of the game following a 17-minute opener by Youssef "Obama" Ibrahim to put Zamalek level on points with leaders and defending Champions Ahly with 13 points.
Ashour had to fill in the boots of experienced and midfield maestro Ferjani Sassi who is in the middle of a row with Zamalek over his contract renewal.
The Pharaohs U23 has been living up to expectations over the past few weeks, since the absence of the Tunisian international midfielder, having Zamalek's fans dreaming big.
Early goal
Zamalek capitalised on their early pressure with an early goal from Obama. The Whites' attacker rose above the defenders to meet Hazem Emam's cross with a powerful header past keeper Mohamed Bassam in the 17th minute.
Ashour coud have doubled the lead three minutes later but his long range curler crashed off the post.
Though Zamalek's domination, El-Gaish came close from scoring before the break when midfielder Mohanad Lashin exchanged passes with Ahmed Samir to infiltrate the area but his shot hit the side netting.
Ashour's show
In the 49th minute, Ashour made amends for his first half miss scoring with a screamer from more than 30 yards to pile more pressure on the visitors.
El-Gaish attacked en masse leaving acres of space at the back that were then exposed by Zamalek's counter attacks.
Ahmed "Zizo" El-Sayed, Shikabala and Obama squandered some opportunities to stretch the hosts' lead.
But it came down to Ashour to put the game beyond doubt in the 72nd minute with another splendid curling ball at the far post after being set up in the area by Zizo.
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