CAIRO: Hossam Al-Badri admitted that even though Ahly beat Harras Hodoud, its players were distracted by the game between Ismaili and Telecom Egypt.
Ahly secured a 1-0 win at Max Stadium on Monday, whilst their arch-rivals edged past Telecom with the same scoreline in Cairo.
The results meant that Ahly and Ismaili remained tied on 60 points, one week before the final day of the league season.
We were half-focused because the scoreline in Cairo distracted us, Ahly assistant coach Al-Badri said after the game.
Of course any goal in the Ismaili game would have had an effect on the performance of our players.
Flavio Amado hit a 39th minute winner in Alexandria, just a few minutes after Mohamed Mohsen Abou-Greisha had given Ismaili the lead over Telecom.
Al-Badri, who is tipped to take over from departing coach Manuel Jose, highlighted the importance of the win despite the average performance.
It was an average tactical game with a few chances, but the win is very precious for us, he added
Now we must focus on the game with Santos.
Ahli will host Angolan outfit Santos in their first CAF Confederation Cup tie on Saturday, following their Champions League exit.
