Ismaily claimed their third consecutive win in the Egyptian league with a 1-0 win over Zamalek on Thursday in the third matchday of Group B, thanks to midfielder Ibrahim Hassan who scored the winner in the 30th minute.

Zamalek, missing a reliable playmaker, huffed and puffed throughout the 90 minutes but were easily contained by defensive-minded Ismaily, who were happy with their first-half lead.

Zamalek appeared affected by the absence of their talented trio Mahmoud Abdel-Razek 'Shikabala', Ahmed Eid Abdel-Malek and Hazem Emam.

Shikabala has been absent from training since the start of the season because of his unpaid dues, while Abdel-Malek amicably terminated his contract with the club this week for the same reason.

Lively winger Hazem Emam is still suffering a muscle injury which sidelined him from this important clash.

Despite a good start from Zamalek who dominated possession, the visitors seized the initiative in the 28th minute when Ghanaian striker John Antwi was close to scoring his fifth goal in the domestic league, but his shot went over the bar.

Two minutes later young midfielder Ibrahim Hassan scored the winner for Ismaily with a rocketing shot from 30 yards, giving his side a first-half lead.

Zamalek intensified their efforts in the second half to overcome their first-half deficit and substitute Ahmed Aly, who replaced Moemen Zakaria one minute after the break, received a nice cross from Omar Gaber but his volley bounced over the bar.

In the 58th minute, Zamalek's Omar Gaber sent in a nice shot, but Ismaily's keeper Mohamad Awad made a heroic save.

Ismaily benefited from a naïve mistake from Zamalek's midfielder Omar Gaber, who touched the ball with his hand in the area in the 74th minute, but Zamalek's keeper Genesh denied Antwi's shot.

Following Thursday's win, Ismaily secured their place as Group B leader with nine points, while Zamalek fell to fifth place with three points.

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