CAIRO: Zamalek failed to beat second division side Tanta and were held to a 1-1 draw in a friendly on Tuesday, in preparation for the eagerly-awaited match against arch-rivals Ahly.
The Cairo giants were put ahead when Abdel-Halim Ali netted the opener on 24 minutes.
But the slender lead was cancelled out when Mohamed Al-Gamal scored an equalizer for Tanta upon converting a penalty-kick eight minutes later.
Zamalek have played several friendly matches in order to prepare for the Cairo derby, which is taking place on Sunday.
The majority of the White knights first-team players were fielded in the game, even so, trio Sherif Ashraf, Alaa Kamal and Ahmed Magdi were excluded due to youth team commitments.
