Zamalek advance as Misr Insurance captain insists his side were not afraid

Zamalek reached the last 16 of the Egypt Cup after beating second-division side Misr Insurance, but their opponents’ captain, Hesham Fathy, said his team believed they could have secured victory.

Fathy scored Misr Insurance’s second goal and said the players had approached the tie without being intimidated by Zamalek, who he described as African champions and a major club.

“Ahmed Radwan told us to play our football and show our best against Zamalek, who are African champions and a big team, but we were not afraid of them,” Fathy told On Sport.

Zamalek eventually completed an exciting win to progress, but Fathy felt Misr Insurance had remained in contention until the final stages.

“We showed the work we had done and the preparation we had put into the match against Zamalek. We could have won until the last minute, but I am proud of my team,” he added.

Several lower-division teams have appeared overawed when facing top-flight opposition in this season’s Egypt Cup, but Fathy said that was not the case with Misr Insurance.

“Some of the other teams from the lower divisions in the Egypt Cup showed fear when they played against Premier League sides, but we were not afraid at all,” he said.

Fathy also argued that the Misr Insurance squad contained players capable of competing at a higher level than the second division.

“Every player in my team deserves to play in the Premier League, not in the second division. Hopefully, we will qualify for the Professional League,” he said.

Zamalek’s victory secured their place in the last 16, where they will face ENPPI, who beat Proxy by the same score.