CAIRO: Zamalek s carelessness cost them a win against the newly-promoted Aluminum that secured a dramatic 2-2 draw at home in the League on Sunday.
Harbi Tawfik s strike 13 minutes after the break cancelled out Gamal Hamza s opener for Zamalek in the first-half.
Tamer Abdel Hamid restored Zamalek s lead in the 72nd minute but a stoppage-time strike by Mohamed Abdel Kader helped Aluminum secure a share of spoils.
The result put Zamalek in fourth place of the league table with 21 points, while Aluminum are eighth on 14 points.
Zamalek coach Ruud Krol opted to include Hamza in the starting line-up after the talented forward notched the winner in the Cairo giants 1-0 victory over Arab Contractors.
The visitors dominated the entire first-half and threatened Aluminum on several occasions.
After five minutes, Hamza dived to connect with Ahmed Ghanem s cross from the right but his header went wide.
Sherif Ashraf latched on to Shikabala s threaded pass four minutes later but keeper Mohamed Khalaf rushed out to collect the ball.
In the 25th minute, the in-form Shikabala fired a powerful left-footed shot from the edge of the area but Khalaf superbly tipped the ball over.
Zamalek were deservedly ahead six minutes later.
Hamza sprung the offside trap to control Shikabala s pinpoint chip inside the area before slotting home past Khalaf.
Early in the first-half, Zamalek squandered another golden opportunity when Ashraf was released by Ahmed Magdi but his attempted volley went poorly wide.
Aluminum punished Zamalek for their lack of cutting edge, notching the equalizer in the 58th minute.
Tawfik took advantage of some poor marking from Amr Al-Safti to tower and head home a free-kick from the right.
Krol introduced veteran Abdel Halim Ali instead of the ineffective Ashraf in a bid to revive Zamalek s attacking options.
Ali came close shortly after his introduction, when his close-range header narrowly missed the target.
Abdel Hamid put Zamalek ahead again in the 72nd minute on the rebound after Shikabala s initial shot from inside the area was parried by Khalaf into his path.
Zamalek could have easily killed off the game but once again wasted a number of easy opportunities.
The post denied Mostafa Bedaywi s curling effort in the 77th minute but Aluminum finally grabbed the equalizer in the dying seconds.
Left completely unmarked inside the area, Abdel Kader side-footed a cross and the ball bounced off the turf before finding its way past the hapless Mohamed Abdel Monsef.
