Al Ahly coach Pitso Mosimane said his Egyptian charges upped their performance in Sunday’s 4-0 win over Smouha.

The Egyptian champions went into the match having disappointed in a 2-2 draw against 10-man Pyramids last week.

In a post-match interview, Mosimane said he was happy that his team showed character in the game against Smouha.

“We had a better performance than our last match against Pyramids. We won the game with plenty of goals,” he said.

“It was important to win tonight after a draw against Pyramids and losing two points in the dying moment of the game. Also, I am happy to end the game with a clean sheet. I was so sad after the draw against Pyramids after missing many chances in the game. Today we returned to the winning track.”

Mosimane said he was bracing for a tough time after their CAF Champions League final against Kaizer Chiefs later this month.

“We are expecting a very difficult time after the CAF Champions League final. We will miss six players who will participate in the Olympics. It is not easy to deal with the absence of six players in that stage of the season,” he said.

Al Ahly are second on the log table with 45 points from 21 games, a distance from leaders and rivals, Zamalek who have 61 points from 27 matches.