Hodoud beat the Red Devils 1-0 in Alexandria, to reach the competition’s quarter-final, and Ashri was glad to see his counterpart salute him after the game.

“Jose congratulated me for both the performance and result. He also told me he wishes Hodoud win the cup,” Al-Ashri told Modern Sport TV.

“I’ve learnt a lot from Jose as a tactician. He’s someone I always look up to.”

Al-Ashri added that he was happy with his players’ display, saying that they managed to take full advantage of Ahli’s points of weaknesses.

“We succeeded in holding off Ahli’s key players, and we did so well to cause havoc on the counter attacks.

The former Egypt defender considered that it was very important to see the game end in a sporting manner from both fans and players alike.

“With the growing fanaticism in Egyptian football, I was hoping that we can have a neat game, and gratefully that’s what happened.”

After the massive win, Hodoud will now face the winner of Ghazl Mahalla and Masri, who will meet on Thursday.