Ahly coach Pitso Mosimane said he is confident his team would make it to the African Champions League knockout phase despite suffering a shock 1-0 loss at Tanzania's Simba on Tuesday.

The defending champions were undone by a first-half piledriver midfielder Luis Miquissone, having only created a solitary goal-scoring chance in the dying minutes.

The surprise defeat is Mosimane's second loss since he took over at the team in October last year. The first was a 2-0 reverse against European champions Bayern Munich in the Club World Cup semi-final.

The slump against Simba left Ahly third in Group A with three points from two games, on level with DR Congo's Vita Club and three behind leaders Simba.

"We still have four remaining games in the group stage, and we will fight to reach the next round," Mosimane was quoted as saying by Ahly's official website after the game.

"We aimed to dominate possession in today's game, but we missed several chances in the first half, and in these games, we have to take all of our chances."

Simba were roared on by some 30,000 supporters at the vibrant Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam despite coronavirus concerns, with the decision to allow such a big number of fans to attend the match criticised by Mosimane.

"We have to be professional after any loss, but the game could be held in better circumstances," the South African boss added.

"I am a professional coach and I have no comments on the fans' attendance as it was the CAF's decision, but what happened today did not happen in any place in the world."

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