Zamalek boss Moataz Gamal says side deserved two penalties against Al Ahly

Moataz Gamal said Zamalek should have been awarded at least two penalties in their 2-0 defeat by Al Ahly in the Cairo derby, while apologising to the club’s supporters after Sunday’s Egyptian Premier League match.

Al Ahly secured victory at Cairo International Stadium in the sixth round of the competition, with Zamalek unable to make the most of several chances after conceding their first goal.

“We were unfortunate in the first half and conceded a goal after the ball struck one of our players and changed direction,” Zamalek manager Gamal said at his post-match news conference.

“Zamalek were the better side in the second half, but we did not convert the opportunities we created and then conceded a second goal.

“We will close the book on this match and start focusing on the important game against the Rwandan Army in the CAF Champions League.”

Gamal said he had been forced to alter his team’s system because of absences and injuries. He also revealed that Aday Dabbagh had fallen ill after returning, while Adam Kaied was injured during the warm-up before kick-off.

“Zamalek deserved at least two penalties in today’s match,” he added. “I have never spoken about refereeing, but what happened was strange. I hope everyone watches the two incidents.”

‘Simple mistakes’ punished

The Zamalek manager accepted that his team’s defensive errors had contributed to the result, but rejected the suggestion that the defeat had been particularly harsh.

“We conceded two goals because of simple mistakes, and we will work to correct them to prevent them happening again,” Gamal said.

“I started Ahmed Sherif because of his pace, and Zamalek’s threat in the first half came from his runs.”

When a journalist described the loss as a heavy defeat, Gamal replied: “Do not say the result was harsh. The match was 50-50, and the result was not a heavy one.”

He ended by apologising to Zamalek’s supporters.

“I apologise to the Zamalek fans,” Gamal said. “I had hoped to make them happy today by beating Al Ahly.”