Egypt boss Hassan Shehata insisted that his side deserved to clinch the African title after seeing off Ivory Coast 4-2 on penalties in the African Cup of Nations (ACN) final on Friday. "We won the championship after a lot of effort and sweat and with support from the president (Hosni Mubarak), technical staff and players," Shehata told BBC Sport on Saturday "The final match was a marathon. We exerted a lot of sweat and effort to please this great nation," he added. The Pharaohs came close to end the thriller in their favour during the normal time of the match but Enppi ace Amr Zaki had a goal ruled, while skipper Ahmed Hassan missed a penalty deep into extra time. "The goal Zaki scored late in the normal time should have stood because there was nothing wrong with it and when we again lost the penalty in extra time, I was beginning to think it was not going to be our day. "Thank God we were luckier during the penalty shoot-out," Shehata insisted. The Egyptian head coach dedicated the country's fifth African victory, after previously winning the cup in 1957, 1959, 1986 and 1998, to the Egyptian fans. "This great achievement is dedicated to the Egyptian fans who stood by the national team. God always rewards those who perfect what they do and we exerted huge efforts to win the championship until this dream came true," he said.
