Mostafa Fathi struck late in injury time to send defending champions Zamalek into the 2016 Egypt Cup quarter-finals, against a broken-hearted Ittihad El-Shorta.
Zamalek came into the match on the back of a drab 0-0 draw with bitter rivals Al Ahly in the Cairo Derby, as the 2015/16 Egyptian Premier League season came to a close.
Ittihad El-Shorta, on the other hand, will be plying their trade in the second tier next season after being relegated from the first division.
The Whites threatened to open the scoring through Shikabala and Emmanuel Mayuka, before Ibrahim Abdel-Khalek managed to break the deadline with a 15th-minute strike.
El-Shorta were back in it on the stroke of halftime, however, when Moruf committed a foul inside the area that warranted a penalty. Shamama stepped up to take the spot kick, and duly placed it to Shennawy’s left to pull his side back on level terms.
The second half was a dull affair, and although Zamalek thought they had been given a chance to win the match when they were awarded a penalty in the 81st minute, the referee decided to reverse the call after consulting his assistant.
Just when it seemed that regulation time would not be enough to separate both sides, 22-year-old Fathi took advantage of lax defending on the edge of the area to rifle home the winner and put an abrupt end to El-Shorta’s already miserable campaign.
