Zamalek beat Smouha 3-1 to reach Egyptian Cup quarter finals
Zamalek have succeeded in surpassing rivals Smouha in the round of 16 of Egypt Cup after defeating them 3-1 after reaching extra time to book a place in the competition’s quarterfinal.
The cup tie started with Zamalek having the upper hand as they attempted to score early in the game and came very close to achieving that after Kasongo almost got on the end of a dangerous cross.
In the 21st minute Zamalek were approaching Smouha’s goal again after Hazem Emam sent a cross from the right side that found Ahmed Sayed Zizo who headed the ball just wide.
The Whites remained dominant for the remainder of the first half and at the final minute with Youssef Obama hitting the crossbar with a header.
The second half started calmly until the 54th minute when Smouha forward Salah Mohsen went forward from the left side before sending a wonderful curler that Mohamed Abou-Gabal had no response to for the Alexandria-based side to take the lead.
Six minutes later Hossam Hassan was close to double Smouha’s lead as he dribbled past Abou-Gabal but couldn’t finish on target from a narrow angle.
Zamalek received a penalty call in the 73rd minute but Mahmoud Alaa missed the target from the spot.
However, Imam Ashour made things level in the 81st minute after his close range shot was deflected into goal, for the match to head to extra time.
Extra time saw no significant action as both sides looked exhausted. With game seemed heading to penalties, Ahmed Sayed Zizo produced a moment of brilliance and took the ball, cut inside from the right side and fired a powerful shot into the top far corner to score the winner for his team and help them reach the quarterfinal.
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