Julius OkorieNigeria’s CAF Confederation Cup campaigners, Enyimba, finally bid goodbye to the championship this season on Sunday, after suffering a 3-1 defeat to Zamalek of Egypt in Cairo.
Primebusiness.africa in the course of the preview ahead of the match had predicted that it will be a herculean task for the Peoples Elephant who faltered in their home game against Al Masry in Uyo, just before the final showdown against veterans and defending Champions Zamalek.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelEnyimba’s situation was further compounded by Al Masry victory over Black Bulls of Mozambique by the same 3-1 margin.
Enyimba’s qualification of the quarterfinals had been hinged on two chances, first wining against Zamalek and secondly banking on Black Bulls beating second placed Al Masry in their Group D where Zamalek posted a photo finish with 14 points.
Enyimba thus ended their group stage campaign with six points to place third with the two Egyptian sides, Zamalek and Al-Masry advancing with 14 and nine points respectively.
Zamalek achieved the feat on Sunday despite resting seven of their regular players to further underscore the ruggedness of the team and their wealth of experience over the years in the continental showpiece
Zamalek’s first chance came in the 10th minute, but Mohamed Atef’s shot from outside the penalty area was saved by the Enyimba’s goalkeeper.
In the 14th- minute Mustafa Shalaby fired a powerful shot that went next to the left post of Enyimba’s goal.
The no dull- moment incursions into Enyimba’s vital area by their hosts, finally yielded fruit in the 29th minute when Mostafa Shalaby opened scoring for the homers.
READ ALSO:Confederation Cup: Enyimba In Make Or Break Clash with Zamalek
At the beginning of the second half, Zamalek intensified attempts and Seif El-Jaziri succeeded in scoring the second goal in the 48th minute after he took advantage of a mistake by the Enyimba goalkeeper. The consolation goal for Enyimba thanks to Ifeanyi Ihemekwele who converted a shot from inside Zamalek’s penalty area in the 57th minute after enjoying timely assist from Paschal Eze.
The remaining minutes saw both sides battle to the finish in the midfield with Enyimba trying to remedy the situation but that was not to be as an 88th minute goal by Zamalek’s Seif El Jaziri shot the game beyond the reach of the Nigerian side who will now return fully to their league campaign when the NPFL resumes on January 25.
With Enyimba’s exit and Al Masry qualification for the next round, the quarter final line up is now complete.
All the quarter-finals teams are defending champions Zamalek SC (Egypt), CS Constantine, USM Alger (Algeria), RS Berkane (Morocco), Simba SC (Tanzania), Stellenbosch FC (South Africa) and Al Masry (Egypt).
Julius Okorie is Chief Sports and Entertainment Correspondent for Prime Business Africa. He began his journalism career with the Champion Newspaper and Sporting Champion and later moved on to Daily Independent and the Nation Newspapers. Okorie joined Prime Business Africa in 2024 bringing on board 20 years of experience in writing investigative news on Sports and Entertainment. His well researched and highly informative articles on Sports Business and general entertainment are followed by a wide range of audience.
