Al Ahly coach, Pitso Mosimane, has said his side worked overtime to beat Mamelodi Sundowns 2-0 in a CAF Champions League quarter-final first leg match in Egypt on Saturday.

The South African told Al Ahly website the tie remains evenly balanced despite that the Egyptian side has a 2-0 lead going into the second leg match.

“I guess we were going through a marathon of games. A period of difficult games but we march on, without excuses,” he is quoted saying.

“It was a very difficult match and Mamelodi Sundowns are a strong team. You could see their movement and passes. We needed patience and we needed to be smart.”

Mosimane then singled out individuals for praise after the win.

“Our players were soldiers. Salah looked like the super sub and El Shenawy had some key saves. Ajayi was capable only of playing 10 minutes, but thank God he’s coming back again. Also, Ayman and Wahid had to share the game because they are not able to play the 90 minutes,” he said.

“We have to take Ali Maaloul to recover in South Africa, maybe he’ll be available for the CAF Super Cup in Qatar. When you win, you need to be humble. I have been at Sundowns for so long and I have much respect for them. They helped me to be here and I also helped them.”

Mosimane added :“I believe that we will go to South Africa and get a great result, but of course it will be difficult. A goal is very important in South Africa. Of course, we want to keep a clean sheet, but we need to score.”

The South African champions trailed to a wonderful strike from Taher Mohamed in the 23rd minute, before Shalabi profited from goalkeeper Denis Onyango’s gaffe to slot in the second goal with a minute to full-time.