Kenya Police’s dream of qualifying for the group stage of the CAF Confederation Cup in their very first attempt received a setback on Saturday 14 September following their narrow 0-1 loss against Egyptian giants Zamalek at the Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi.
The visitors, who enjoyed most of the possession, broke the deadlock in the 45th minute through Abdullah Al-Saeed who found space near the penalty box after a defensive mix-up from the hosts and made it count.
He had enough space to pick a spot before firing a shot past the helpless Police FC custodian Patrick Matasi who could only watch the ball as it kissed the net.
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After the half time break, Police head coach Anthony Kimani made a couple of substitutions to try to get back into the match.
He replaced Charles Ouma and Jaffari Owiti with Tyson Otieno and Alvin Mang’eni, a move that nearly paid off.
With about 10 minutes to go to the end of the match, Police got a golden opportunity to find an equalizer but they did not utilize it, much to the disbelief of their supporters.
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A few minutes later, Jesse Were also fired agonizingly wide from close range after being put through by experienced midfielder Francis Kahata.
Despite the defeat, all is not lost since the Kenyan representatives still have a chance to redeem themselves in the return leg scheduled for Friday September 20 in Egypt.
Should Police secure an aggregate win, they will qualify for the group stage of the continental showpiece for the first time in their history.
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