Wadi Degla target youth development after victory over Zamalek in Egypt Capital Cup

Wadi Degla manager Mustafa Shbeita says the club’s priority in the Egypt Capital Cup is to give young players valuable first-team experience after their 1-0 victory over Zamalek.

Aser Hany scored the only goal of the match in the closing stages as Wadi Degla claimed a second successive win in Group A.

Speaking to On Sport, Shbeita said his team had prepared specifically to exploit Zamalek’s defensive approach.

“We worked throughout the week to prepare for the match,” he said. “We saw that Zamalek played with a deep defence, so we focused on using the wings and finding space between the lines in order to score.”

Shbeita also outlined the club’s plans to introduce more academy players during the competition.

“Our objective in the Egypt Capital Cup is to involve young players,” he said. “Aser was born in 2009 and Hazem was born in 2007. We want to give new players the chance to take part in this edition.”

He also highlighted the potential of Wadi Degla goalkeeper Gresha, who was born in 2006.

“He has a big future ahead of him and I hope to see him with the Olympic team,” Shbeita said.

The Wadi Degla manager praised Zamalek goalkeeper Omar Abdel Aziz for keeping the scoreline close, saying: “He is a promising goalkeeper and stopped more than one chance. I wished we had scored more goals.”

Shbeita added that the young players are being prepared through both competitive matches and friendlies before making regular appearances in the Egyptian Premier League.

“We are trying to prepare the young players, whether in the Egypt Capital Cup or in friendly matches, so they become ready to play regularly with the first team in the league,” he said.

The result left Zamalek bottom of Group A without a point after two matches. They began their campaign with a 3-0 defeat by ZED, meaning this was their second consecutive loss in the competition.

Wadi Degla, meanwhile, have won both of their games. They also beat Al Ittihad Alexandria 1-0 in the opening round and now lead the group with six points.

Group A also includes Tala’ea El Gaish, alongside Zamalek, Al Ittihad Alexandria, ZED and Wadi Degla.

Shbeita said the team’s progress had been gradual and identified a defeat by Pyramids as his most disappointing result of the season.

“The match that made me most upset this season was against Pyramids,” he said. “We played well against the league leaders but were unable to take our chances.”

He added: “The team’s level is improving step by step. I told the players that we would achieve results, and the performance is getting better.”