Al Ahly legend Wael Gomaa has leapt to the defence of head coach Pitso Mosimane who has been criticised despite their first-leg win over Mamelodi Sundowns in the CAF Champions League quarter-final.
Gomaa, who won 29 trophies in an iconic 13-year stint with the Egyptian giants feels the criticism over the performance is unwarranted as Mosimane was tactically correct in the way he approached the fixture.
The former Sundowns coach himself admitted that the Brazilians played 'beautiful' football but was unconcerned about the manner in which they secured victory in Cairo.
Taher Mohamed's first-half stunner and Salah Mohsen's profiting from a late Denis Onyango error handed the club of Red Devils a 2-0 advantage going into the second leg.
After the game former Ahly striker, Abdelhamid Hassan joined in on the critics saying the results have been good but the performances have been 'mediocre' but Gomaa felt differently in his assessment.
Scroll through the gallery below to see images of the victory in Cairo
Speaking to BeIn Sports, Gomaa said: "The performance in the second half was less than the first, I would justify for Mosimane that he dealt smartly with the game.
"Al Ahly almost conceded, but Mohamed El-Shennawy appeared at his true level alongside Aliou Dieng, who bore the burden of midfield alone. He is the reason for Al Ahly's victory.
"As I said Mosimane dealt smartly with the game, but he must be careful and not sit back and wait for the counter-attacks in Pretoria."
The Club of the Century have already landed in South Africa and enjoyed their first training session ahead of the second-leg tie at the Lucas Masterpieces Moripe Stadium on Saturday (15h00).