Week One: Off We Goo!

By: MiDoS | August 8th, 2008

El-Dawry is back and Zamalek continues the winning habit after last Sunday’s victory over Dynamos FC in the CAF’s Champions League. Zamalek with one man down grabbed 3 precious points in a tough Away challenge agains Ghazl El-Mahalla. And guess what?! The name “Amr” continues its blessing over Zamalek but this time it was El-Mahalla’s Amr Ramadan who scored the first “own goal” that opened the play for Zamalek throughout the game.

Zamalek vs. Ghazl EL-Mahalla: 2-0 (Own Goal 10′, Mahmoud Fathalla 48′)

Start-Up Line:
Mohamed Abdel Monsef, Ahmed Magdy, Amr El-Safty, Mahmoud Fathalla, Mohamed Ibrahim, Ricardo Alves, Mohamed Abdallah, Ayman Abdelaziz (C), Osama Hassan (Ahmed Abdel-Raouf), Gamal Hamza (Alaa Kamal), Mostafa Gaafar (Abdel Halim Ali)

Zamalek in Action:

-6′ First corner taken by Ricardo then followed by two more corners.

-10′ Corner taken by Ricardo, Amr El-Safty went for a header but Ghazl El-Mahalla’s Amr Ramadan scored instead in his own net.

-24′ Low cross by Ayman Abdelaziz from the left, finds Gamal Hamza but the keeper holds it. The match is fast and the play is open.

-26′ A through pass by Ricardo puts Mostafa Gaafar in one-on-one situation with the keeper. Gaafar beat the keeper but Mahalla’s Mohsen Hindawy clears the ball away just on the line of his goal.

-29′ Yellow Card-Amr El-Safty

–Between the two halfs– Red Card-Ricardo, Yellow Card-Gamal Hamza, Kamal In Gamal Out

-48′ Alaa Kamal dribbles from the right side and crosses a low one that finds Fathalla who heads it to make the score 2-0 for Zamalek =)

-73′ Halim In Gafaar Out

-80′ Abdel-Raouf In Hassan Out

-89′ Good pass from Halim to Mohamed Ibrahim, shoots on goal; ball goes wide.

-90′+1′ Halim has a close attempt on goal but his shot goes beside the right post.

Just Notice: Zamalek played in the first half wearing white socks but then changed to black ones in the second half

Zamalek Player Ratings:

Mohamed Abdel Monsef Man of the match
Ahmed Magdy (6/10) Not bad
Amr El-Safty (8/10) Rock in defence
Mahmoud Fathalla (8/10) 2nd Rock in defence
Mohamed Ibrahim (6/10) Not bad
Ricardo Alves (7/10) Created good crosses from the left side
Mohamed Abdallah (5/10) Umm…
Ayman Abdelaziz (7/10) Fights for every ball
Osama Hassan (4/10) I dunno what to say
Gamal Hamza (3/10) Lets just not mention what you did
Mostafa Gaafar (7/10) Moved alot around the box to collect balls
Alaa Kamal (6/10) Looked sharp on goal
Ahmed Abdel-Raouf (Not tested)
Abdel Halim Ali (Not tested, but had a close attempt on goal in the final minutes of the game)

Finally, It seems that Reiner Hollmann is getting to know his team better and better. He controlled today’s match wisley from outside and the substitutions he made were effective. We all wish the best for our beloved team in the upcoming matches. FORZA ZAMALEK!!!

LOOKING FORWARD TO READ YOUR COMMENTS!