Egyptian giants Zamalek SC on Saturday gunned down Kenya Police 1-0 in the first leg of the second preliminary round of 2024/25 Caf Confederation Cup at Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi.
Midfielder Abdalla Mohamed’s goal in added time of the first-half made all the difference in the match in which the odds were heavily stacked against home team.
Police coach Anthony Kimani said the numerous chances his team created and wasted cost his team victory.
“We are very proud of the boys. They have done their best but it was not good enough today. We played according to game plan, created good scoring opportunities but yet again we were not able to fully exploit those chances,” said Kimani after the match.
Kimani said they will prepare well for the return leg in Cairo since they still have a good chance to progress to the group stage of the competition.
“Based on bow the boys have played today, I’m confident that we can still qualify (for the group stage) so we cannot give up yet til the end of 90 minutes,” he added.
Jafari Owitti (left) of Kenya Police (left) fights for the ball with Nabil Aly of Zamalek during their Caf Confederation Cup match on September 14, 2024 played at Nyayo National Stadium.
Photo credit: Chris Omollo | Nation Media Group
“They (Police) created some dangerous situations in our box. Police played really well and of course this match is not over. If we don’t respect them in the next game, we could lose because 1-0 means nothing,” said Manuel.
In their tradition, the Kenya Police band kept the fans entertained before and during the enthralling clash.
Sounds of isukuti drums and vuvuzela also rented the air as the about 5,000 supporters cheered their respective teams inside the stadium. Only a handful of Zamalek FC fans attended the match.
Acting Inspector-General of Police Gilbert Masengeli, who was on Friday sentenced to six months in jail for contempt of court, was among the dignitaries who attended the match.
Kenya Police coach, Anthony Kimani, handed experienced striker Jesse Were his debut with the law enforcers in the match.
The 34-year-old striker joined the law enforcers during the recently closed 2024/25 transfer window period from Zambian giants Zesco.
Winger Jafari Owiti squandered Police’s first real chance in the 23rd minute when he fired across the face of goal from the left inside the box.
Six minutes to halftime, Police’s David Okoth raced well on the left but his weighty cross was blocked by a Zamalek defender.
Okoth was at it again three minutes from time, this time picking Were inside the box with another perfect pass but the striker fired wide to the disappointment of the home supporters.
A defensive lapse would then cost Police when Mostafa Sayed strted play quickly from a free-kick and set up Mohamed who beat Matasi with a close range shot.
Both sides made changes at the restart with Police introducing Tyson Otieno and Alvin Mangeni for Charles Ouma and Owiti respectively.
Zamalek rested Naser Abd for Mahmoud Fadlalla. Similar to the first-half, Zamalek started bright but Police gained momentum in the match. Mangeni almost equalised the score on 62 minutes but his cutback was cleared to safety.
In the 71st minute, Were wasted a glorious scoring opportunity when he sent a weak shot to goalkeeper Sobhy direction instead of passing the ball to his team mates in the box.
Moments later Francis Kahata sent a drive from the edge of the box but it was dealt with Zamalek defenders. Police continued to pile pressure for the equaliser but they were not lucky.
Whereas the Kenya domestic cup champions are playing on the continental stage for the first time this season, Zamalek are five-time Caf Champions League winners and have won the Confederation Cup twice.
Zamalek have won the Egyptian league title 14 times. The teams again lock-horns on Friday in Cairo with the aggregate winner progressing to the competition’s group stage.
