Ahly and Zamalek played out an exciting 2-2 draw in a see-saw Cairo derby clash on Sunday that could have gone either way, with both sides likely to rue a missed opportunity to claim a precious Egyptian Premier League win.
Al Ahly got off to a good start when star forward Mohamed Sherif profited from a poor clearance from Abdel Ghani before firing past goalkeeper Mohamed Awad on 12 minutes.
The defending league champions had a chance to get back on level terms in the 28th minute when Abdallah Gomaa sent a superb cross into the box, which caused problems although there were no teammates to make contact.
Al Ahly managed to hold out their rivals for the remaining stages of the first, but that was the end of the night for Tau who made way for Hussein El-Shahat at the start of the second half.
It was the visitors who got the next goal as substitute Shikabala sent a cross into the box that found Achraf Bencharki, who powered home a header from close range.
Zamalek then turned game around with 14 minutes left on the clock as Shikabala made it 2-1 after turning home a cross from Youssef Nabih.
The lead did not last long though, as Al Ahly were back on level terms in the 80th minute when Salah Mohsen nodded home a cross from Taher Mohamed.
Zamalek did go agonizingly close to securing the winning goal in second-half stoppage time as Emam Ashour saw his stinging effort crash against the crossbar.
In the end, 2-2 was how the encounter finished as the point leaves Zamalek top of the Egyptian Premier League standings, four points above Al Ahly, who sit fourth but have played three games less.
