Emam Ashour and Ahmed “Zizo” Sayed scored in the 16th and 18th minutes, while Amr El Saadawy scored the visitors’ consolation goal.
The Whites are now third with 25 points after 11 games, one point behind leaders Pyramids FC, who have played one match less.
Interim coach Ossama Nabih made it two out of two games since the departure of Frenchman Patrice Carteron last week. He will now serve as the assistant coach of Portuguese coach Jesualdo Ferreira, who arrived earlier on Monday to take charge of the team.
Eager to make an impression for the new coach, who was watching the game from the stands, Zamalek players were off to a blistering start, going up 2-0 in just 18 minutes.
Ashour broke the deadlock in the 16th minute, sending a powerful shot from the edge of the box at the far post.
Two minutes later, Ashour set Zizo clear on target with a precise long ball to lob the ball over the onrushing keeper.
After that slow start, Gouna regained their composure and were able to gain possession, but without threatening Zamalek’s keeper Mohamed About Gabal.
However, seconds before the break, they earned a penalty as defender Mahmoud Alaa fouled Amr Tarek in the box. Amr El-Saadawy made no mistakes from the spot to close the gap on the Whites.
The second half was a different affair. Both sides were more cautious and chances became rare.
Zamalek’s more energetic player Zizo had a powerful shot from a tight angle that was deflected into a corner, and at the other end Islam Abdel-Naim’s curler went easily into the hands of Abou-Gabal.
Though Gouna pressed forward in the later stages and coach Reda Shehata threw in his attackers Karim Tarek, Khaled Kamar and Ethiopian Shimeles Bekele in an attempt to grab the equaliser, they could not make the expected impact and got nothing out of this game.
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