"Zamalek's players don't have the experience of playing in African tournaments; the team didn't take part in any for a long time and that affected us against Africain," The Dean said to Egyptian TV.

"Only Abdul-Wahed Al-Sayed is experienced enough.

"Even Mahmoud Fathallah, Hani Saied and Shikalabla haven't featured in many African games, although they are regular Egypt figures … most of Zamalek's players are young."

Mistakes

The Whites were made to pay for recurring defensive lapses that could have caused them to concede even more than four goals in the round of 32 match.

Backline duo Ahmed Ghanem and Amr Al-Safti were lambasted after the game, with most of Zamalek's fans blaming the loss on their slip-ups.

But Hassan was quick to defend the under-fire pair by saying: "They exert a lot of efforts in the matches. I take responsibility for the defeat more than they do.

"They helped Zamalek top the (Egyptian Premier) league table till now. I admit that they make mistakes but they are not solely responsible for the loss."