Mahmoud Fathallah, Mohamed Reda 'Bobo' (own goal) and Sherif Ashraf gave the Whites a comfortable lead before Mohamed Al-Fayoumi pulled one back before half-time.

Substitute Ekrami Abdul-Aziz added a second from the spot, but debutant Ahmed Ibrahim restored Zamalek's two-goal lead, but Al-Fayoumi grabbed a late consolation with his second of the game.

Zamalek jumped temporarily to second place with 40 points, while the hapless Cement remain bottom with 20.

Three-Goal Cushion

The visitors were awarded a fifth minute penalty when Osama Hassan was fouled by Bobo, and Fathallah converted coolly.

The home side committed men forward and Gamal Hamza had a chance to double the lead on the counter, but his poor shot went high.

Ten minutes from the break, matters became worse for Bobo when the on-loan Ahli center-half blasted Ahmed Ghanem's cross into his own with a flying header.

Sherif Ashraf added the third three minutes later, firing home from close range after his initial header was blocked by Wissam Ismail.

The Whites had a chance to make it four just before half-time, but Shikabala's exquisite lob went agonizingly wide, in what would have been a goal of the season contender.

Ironically, Cement hit back instantly as Al-Fayoumi's powerful shot left Abdul-Wahed Al-Sayed motionless to give his a precious lifeline.

Slight Hope

Seif Omar's team had no option but to attack, and Zamalek were guilty on several occasions of not punishing their opposition's vulnerable defense, which conceded 39 goals in 22 games before the game.

The home side were awarded a controversial penalty on the hour mark when Ekrami was adjudged to be fouled by youngster Ibrahim.

Ekrami stepped up himself and made no mistake from the spot to make it 3-2 and reduce the deficit to just one goal.

However, Ibrahim atoned for his error as he scored Zamalek's fourth, finishing off Shikabala's clever through ball.

Former Zamalek youngster Al-Fayoumi repeated his first-half feat when he beat Abdul-Wahed in injury time with a wonderfully placed curling shot.