Omar Gaber celebrates his goal against Dakhleya (Zamalek X account)
Fullback Omar Gaber, who came off the bench as a second-half substitute, scored the winner seven minutes from time.
The Portuguese coach took charge of the team at the beginning of February but had a slow start, with the White Knights being held to a goalless draw by Ismaily.
However, they managed to secure a 2-1 victory against Abu Salim of Libya in a Confederation Cup Group stage game.
Zamalek struggled initially on Thursday, failing to pose a significant threat against a defensively-minded Dakhleya side.
The team appeared disorganized, with several players sharing similar roles, such as Abdallah El-Saed, Nasser Maher, and Seif Gaafar.
Striker Nasser Mansi, who had shone in the previous match with a brace against Abou Slim, had the only scoring chance in the first half when his header was denied by goalkeeper Mohamed Magdi.
In the second half, Gomes attempted to organize his side by introducing winger Mostafa Shalabi in place of central midfielder Seif Gaafar.
On the stroke of the hour-mark, Omar Gaber replaced Ahmed Fatouh, who made his first appearance for Zamalek after recovering from a muscle injury sustained while representing the Pharaohs in the Nations Cup.
Zamalek's performance improved slightly, creating some chances, but they were consistently denied by Dakhleya's goalkeeper, who was named the man of the match.
However, with only seven minutes remaining, Omar Gaber received a well-executed pass from Nabil Emad and fired home the winning goal.
With this victory, Zamalek moved up to 10th place in the league standings with 15 points, although they still remain 11 points behind leaders Enppi, who have played four more games.
Zamalek's upcoming matches include a Confederation Cup fixture against Abu Salim on Sunday, followed by the Egypt Cup final against Ahly in Saudi Arabia on Friday.
(For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)
Short link: