Ahli coach Hossam Al-Badri believes that his side outplayed their arch-rivals Zamalek because of their ‘midfield dominance’.

The Red Devils downed the Whites 3-1 in the Egyptian Cup round of 16 on Wednesday to set up a quarter-final meeting with Petrojet.

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Zamalek feared bigger-margin defeat!

Zamalek’s awful display in Wednesday’s Egyptian Cup clash against arch-rivals Ahli could have resulted in a more embarrassing result than the 3-1 defeat they suffered, assistant coach Tarek Soliman said.

The White Knights failed to end their Cairo derby jinx despite taking a 42-second lead through a goal from Qatari attacking midfielder Hussein Yasser.

Ahli roared back with goals from right-back Sherif Abdul-Fadil, striker Mohamed Fadl and classy playmaker Mohamed Abou-Treika to reach the cup’s quarter finals.

The Red Devils, who eye their 14th domestic double having won the Egyptian Premier League this season, were unlucky not to add more goals after squandering a host of clear-cut chances.

“Thanks God that the match ended 3-1,” Soliman, who usually attends post-match news conferences instead of head coach Hossam Hassan, said.

“This was our worst performance this season, the majority of the players could not live up to expectations.

“The early goal we scored eventually counted against us, the players were nervous afterwards.”

Zamalek enjoyed a revival under coach Hossam Hassan to finish second behind Ahli in the league after facing the unthinkable prospect of being relegated to the second division early in the season.