Florent Ibingui, the head coach of Al Hilal Sudanese Club, spoke about his team's loss to Al Ahly of Egypt by a goal to nil in the first leg of the African Champions League quarter-finals, confirming that his team performed well despite the defeat and will seek to compensate in the return match.

Ibingui said: "I knew the match would not be easy, but we respected Al Ahly too much in the first 15 minutes, which gave them the advantage afterwards. We managed to control the game and there was balance between the two teams. We have a chance to compensate in the return leg."

He added: "One of our defenders was injured, and I don't know if he will make it to the return match or not. We also have a player who is absent but may return. The upcoming training sessions will determine the team's readiness for the decisive encounter."

He continued: "We are not a team that wastes time, and there was no intention to do so. One of our players was injured and wanted to continue the match, and the goalkeeper did not intend to delay the game."

He went on: "Abdul Raouf is a distinguished player, but according to the match plan, he was not in the starting lineup. We have many distinguished players who did not participate as well."

Regarding the difference between today's match and the previous loss to Al Ahly, he said: "The difference is clear. In the last match, we did not perform at the required level, and there were issues with the players' shoes, in addition to the nervousness that controlled them. Today, we appeared better and performed well as everyone saw."

On why he did not rely on a traditional striker, he said: "The style of play dictated that, along with injuries. Koulibaly recently returned from injury and was not in his best form."