Midfielder Tamer Abdel Hamid got the only goal of 180 minutes of fractious play, but Cabral said the tie could have gone either way.

"It was two giants playing against each other and obviously a very difficult match," Cabral conceded.

"It was one of those great tussles where you had to be on guard all the time. Thank God the luck was with my side."

Zamalek captain Hazem Imam agreed that the intensity of the match was huge, but said his team-mates had been a little cleverer than their opponents.

"We sat down before the game and discussed not letting ourselves get frustrated or intimidated, especially in the early part of the match," he said.

"We are really happy to win, especially for our fans," Imam added.