April 7 (Reuters Arabic) - Al Ahly coach Marcel Koller said on Monday that the players have the experience to handle matches played on artificial turf when they meet Sudan's Al Hilal on a neutral ground in Mauritania in the second leg of the African Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday.

The first leg, which took place last Tuesday, ended with Al-Ahly winning 1-0 over its guest, Al-Hilal, at Cairo International Stadium.

"Al Hilal is a strong team with outstanding players, but at the same time, Al Ahly will strive with all their might to achieve victory, just as they did in the first leg in Cairo," the Swiss coach said during a press conference on Monday.

Speaking about the weather, Kohler added, "The weather won't have a major impact, especially since the weather in Mauritania is almost cooler than in Cairo, and Al Ahly players have extensive experience in this regard and have dealt with such situations many times."

In statements published by Al-Ahly on its website, Kohler confirmed the team's readiness and that its physical and mental levels are improving. He said he hopes to "strengthen our mental and physical performance during tomorrow's match and achieve victory."

"We are primarily focused on tomorrow's match and are only concerned with achieving victory and qualifying for the next round. We are not concerned about who we will face, especially since we have a strong match ahead of us. After it is over, we can think about what comes next."

For his part, goalkeeper Mohamed El-Shenawy, the team captain, stressed during the press conference the difficulty of the match and said that the team had prepared well for it.

He added, "Al Hilal is a strong team with several distinguished players, and they performed well in the group stage. However, Al Ahli's players are very focused on the match and have the experience to handle such situations. Our main goal is to win."

Al-Ahly is seeking to retain its title and extend its record by winning its 13th continental title, while Al-Hilal is looking to win its first title.

(Press coverage for the Arabic edition by Ayman Abdel Gawad - Edited by Basem Zahran)