The Dervishes slumped to a 3-2 defeat in a thrilling game at Cairo Stadium but felt they were harshly treated by referee Fahim Omar and the linesmen.

Zamalek led 2-1 on the stroke of halftime when Ahmed Gaafar made the most of a refereeing blunder.

The towering striker was in an offside position when central defender Mahmoud Fathallah chested a mis-hit shot into his path to dink the ball over Ismaili keeper Mohamed Sobhi and into the net.

"The second goal was offside and that did not help us in the match," Dutchman Wotte said in a television interview following Ismaili's fourth defeat of the season.

"I told the linesman that I hope he doesn't sleep well tonight.

"(Petrojet coach) Helmi Toulan also said some words about refereeing and he was suspended and fined, he was punished for saying the truth. I can't say what I want."

Ismaili virtually lost hopes of competing for the league title, which they last won in 2002.

They slipped to ninth spot in the table after a narrow defeat by Zamalek, who were once again helped by an inspirational display from in-form forward Shikabala.

The 24-year-old wizard leveled the score on 31 minutes, 11 minutes after Ismaili took the lead to stun the enthusiastic home crowd, with a brilliant individual effort.

He bamboozled his marker Abdullah Shahat with a neat turn and sent in a fierce left-foot drive which beat Sobhi at the far post.

"Shikabala is exceptional with his left foot. We instructed Shahat to mark him but he still scored a good goal," Wotte added, before insisting that his side deserved to at least share honors with Zamalek.

The defeat will increase pressure on the beleaguered tactician, whose job remains under scrutiny after a poor run.

Ismaili board of directors gave him a vote of confidence several times this season but it remains to be seen whether it would be able to withstand pressure from the club's die-hard fans.