Jesualdo Ferreira (Photo: Reuters)
Zamalek coach Jusualdo Ferreira hailed his players after Monday's precious 2-0 premier league win over Harass El-Hodoud, insisting that the victory was a morale boost ahead of the club's anticipated Confederation Cup test.
The Whites easily defeated El-Hodoud to cement their position at the top of the League table with 57 points, seven ahead second-placed ENPPI and 11 points abreast of rivals and third-placed Ahly.
"The result is fair. Zamalek was better so we deserved to win," Ferreira said after the match.
"The first half was a great lesson for our players as they underestimated our opponents so they failed to score, but we managed to recover in the second half especially after the replacements we made.
"The stadium's pitch was a good one, but certainly we missed the support of our fans," the Portuguese coach added, referring to the current crowd-ban in Egyptian football matches for security reasons.
Monday's victory will help the Cairo giants a lot in their preparations for the upcoming crucial clash against FUS of Morocco in the second leg of the Confederation Cup's round of 16.
As the first leg ended with a 0-0 draw in Cairo, Zamalek will have no other choice but to get a positive result in Morocco next Sunday.
"The El-Hodoud victory is very important ahead of the FUS clash. It is a morale boost for the players before travelling to Morroco," concluded Ferreira.
Since his arrival last February, Ferreira has guided Zamalek to victory in six matches, one draw and a clean sheet of zero defeats.
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