El Ahly were tactically superior and the plan to defend the 2-0 lead in Cairo punctuated with spasmodic bursts upfront, worked to perfection and it was no wonder that the Egyptians scored the curtain raiser.

Credit must however go to Coton for summoning enough courage to get the equalizer just before the recess. The away goal by El Ahly however meant Coton had to score four goals to win the trophy and they gave hopeful signals of achieving their aim when the second goal came quite early in the second half. The well built Coton players used their physique to advantage and fired bullet shots from all angles reminiscent of another famous Cameroonian Club Oryx ,that won the maiden Africa Clubs Championships in Ghana in 1965.

Pressure really mounted on El Ahly as Coton went on the rampage, but over anxiety robbed them of several scoring opportunities. It was at this stage that Al Ahly also showed their ability to absorb pressure and hit back at the least opportunity. It was one of this counter attacks that earned them a penalty to pull even.

Crest fallen Coton did not give up and fought bravely to at least preserve their six- year unbeaten home record.

This was a classic cup final by all standards, which showed that the standard of the game in Africa is moving forward.