Abdallah El-Said’s rollercoaster night defined Zamalek’s gritty 2-1 win over Ceramica Cleopatra in the Egypt Cup semi-final on Friday, securing a showdown with Pyramids in the final.
The White Knights’ veteran star sparked hope by coolly converting a penalty in the 33rd minute, only to falter in the 53rd when he fluffed another spot-kick, dredging up a career-long struggle that’s seen him miss 14 penalties across stints with Al-Ahly, Pyramids, and now Zamalek.
His penalty woes began at Al-Ahly in the 2012-2013 Egyptian Super Cup against ENPPI, where Mohamed Abdel Monsef denied him. That same season, he missed against Ghazl El Mahalla, with Nasser Farouk saving it, and again versus Telephones Beni Suef, stopped by Ali Farag. In 2015-2016, Mohamed Fawzy thwarted him against Ghazl El-Mahalla, and Amr Hossam saved one against Ittihad El-Shorta. His final Al-Ahly miss came in 2016-2017, blocked by Mahmoud El-Sayed against Ittihad Alexandria.
At Pyramids, El-Said’s struggles persisted—three misses in 2019-2020 against Al-Masry, Tala’ea El-Gaish, and Zed FC, followed by two in 2020-2021 against Al-Ittihad Alexandria and Wadi Degla. Omar Shaaban saved one in 2021-2022 against Ghazl El Mahalla, and last season, Ahmed Hussein stopped him against Baladyet El-Mahalla. Friday’s miss marked his first with Zamalek, a bad mark on an otherwise triumphant night.
