Ammouta: Al Ahly could have scored more than twice in victory over ZED

Al Ahly head coach Hussein Ammouta said his side had been capable of scoring more than two goals after beating ZED 2-0 in the Egyptian Premier League.

The result at Cairo International Stadium was Al Ahly’s second win of the season and left them on six points, level with Al Masry, Pyramids FC and Tala’ea El Gaish.

Ashraf Bencharki and Taher Mohamed Taher scored the goals as Al Ahly made it six consecutive league victories over ZED. The Cairo club have now won six of their seven most recent meetings with ZED, with the other match ending in a draw.

“We expected the match to be difficult because there are no easy games,” Ammouta said at his post-match news conference.

“We played a strong match, apart from the final 10 minutes of the first half, when there was a lack of concentration and some complacency. We made a few mistakes during that period.”

Assessing the overall performance, Ammouta added: “Today’s match was acceptable, and we could have scored more than two goals.

“We were playing against an organised opponent with very quick players in the forward line. It is natural that they would create some attacks against us, but we finished the match with a clean sheet.”

Ammouta also praised Koka and Taher Mohamed Taher, who both featured in the victory.

“Koka and Taher Mohamed Taher are very important players and have great ability,” he said. “Taher performed well today, as did Koka, and both have been with us since the beginning of pre-season.

“Everyone will play. Al Ahly are competing for all the titles.”

The coach explained that his squad had not yet reached full fitness, partly because the international players had spent less time working with the team than their colleagues.

“The international players trained with us for only three weeks, unlike the other players, who had a longer pre-season,” he said.

“There is no player who does not make mistakes in a match, and none of the players have reached full readiness. Perhaps this difference in preparation explains why some players played for more than 70 minutes.”

Asked about the contract renewals of Marwan Attia and Emam Ashour, Ammouta said the developments were positive, while stressing the importance of having the entire squad available.

“That is a good thing,” he said. “Perhaps the injury delayed Emam’s return to the team, but the squad needs all the players to be ready. Ashraf Dari and Reda Slim are also involved, and we are working to prepare everyone.”

Ammouta said Al Ahly’s preparations had been affected by the different dates on which players joined the squad and by the club’s training camp in Spain.

“The differences in when players joined pre-season, along with our involvement in the camp in Spain, did not give us the opportunity to work on all the ideas I want to implement,” he said.

“Today’s match did not contain as many mistakes as the previous game, and we may have reached 60 or 65% of our level.”

Al Ahly face Smouha in the third round on Thursday, while ZED, who remain on one point after a goalless draw with Wadi Degla in the opening round, play Tala’ea El Gaish at 17:00 local time on Tuesday.