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Zamalek celebrate title triumph after long wait
Zamalek's Omar Gaber (C) celebrates after scoring a goal against Al-Ahly during their CAF Champions League soccer match at El-Gouna stadium in Hurghada, about 464 km (288 miles) from the capital Cairo, September 15, 2013. PHOTO BY REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
30/07/2015
CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian champions Zamalek celebrated clinching their first Premier League title in more than a decade with a 3-2 win behind closed doors at Al Geish on Wednesday.
Zamalek had been crowned champions for the first time since 2004 on Tuesday when rivals Al Ahli, who have dominated the league in recent years, were held to a 1-1 draw by Smouha, mathematically ruling them out of the race.
Zamalek's victory in Cairo’s Air Defence Stadium, therefore, served only to extend their advantage at the top.
With one match remaining, Zamalek have 86 points, eight clear of Ahli.
They wrapped up the win with goals from Ahmed Eid and Bassem Morsi, while Al Geish’s Mohamed Hashem scored for both sides. Since Zamalek's last triumph 11 years ago, Ahli have won eight championships while two seasons were cancelled due to civil unrest in Egypt.
This season was also overshadowed by crowd violence.
A stampede by Zamalek fans seeking to get into a behind-closed-doors game in February resulted in 22 deaths and led to the halting of the league for one month before the government allowed matches to resume without fans in attendance. Former Porto manager Jesualdo Ferreira is Zamalek's fourth coach this season and is credited with finishing off the campaign in style.
They did, however, suffer a 2-0 defeat by Ahli last week which extended Zamalek’s winless run in the fiercely-contested Cairo derby to 20 matches.
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