Egypt goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary played down the importance of producing a vivid display as the team scraped a 1-0 victory over Uganda to record their first win at the African Cup of Nations in Gabon on Saturday.
The Pharaohs were far from impressive but substitute Abdallah El-Said had the job done with a precious winner one minute from time.
"There are no big and small teams in Africa, all teams are performing well nowadays," veteran guardian El-Hadary told beIN Sports after the game.
"We achieved our target as it's important to focus on how to get a win rather than how to perform," the veteran Egyptian goalkeeper added.
A muddy, unplayable pitch at the Port-Gentil Stadium made things difficult for both sides and disrupted build-up attempts as they found it difficult to move the ball around, losing possession too often.
"Playing on this surface is very difficult, thankfully we managed to overcome that," added El-Hadary, who became the oldest player in the Nations Cup history when he replaced injured keeper Ahmed El-Shennawi in the opening 0-0 draw with Mali last Tuesday.
"We also play a game every three days so the players have to take credit for this win."
Egypt are second in the group with four points from two games, two behind leaders Ghana who secured their place in the last eight with a narrow 1-0 victory over Mali earlier in the day.
They will face Ghana, who already secured their place in the quarters, in the last round on Wednesday.
(For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports)