CAF Confederation Cup: Kenya Police not afraid of Zamalek's rich history

David Okoth of Kenya Police FC dribling ball past Esraeal Shalile (left) and Melaku Gao of Ethopian Coffee Sports SC from Ethiopia in the first leg of the CAF Confederations Cup preliminary round match at Nyayo National Stadium. Aug 18, 2024. [Jonah Onyango, Standard]

Historic Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi will on Saturday host the highly anticipated CAF Confederation Cup match between Kenya Police FC and Egyptian giants Zamalek SC.

The rivals will battle in the first round of the continental showpiece which three times champions Zamalek are out to defend with zest.

Zamalek jetted into the country on Thursday morning and had a feel of the match venue last evening.

Despite the rich Zamalek history in the competition, Police who are making their debut in the competition, have declared that they don't respect any records, and they will be out to dismantle them.

"Records are meant to be broken and we are the Police, we will shatter them. We are very much ready to do just that," Police assistant coach Anthony 'Modo' Kimani said.

"We are no cowards; we have a better chance to rewrite that history on Saturday.”

Police heads to the encounter buoyed with a 1-0 aggregate win against Ethiopian Coffee SC in the preliminary round staged in Nairobi and Addis Ababa last month.

The law enforcers are also inspired into the game with the presence of prolific goal poacher Jesse Were, who has been cleared by CAF to face Zamalek.

The former Zesco United FC marksman was unable to feature for Police against Ethiopian Coffee as his transfer papers were yet to be finalised.

Captain Musa Mohamed and midfielder Francis Kahata are expected to inject experience into the squad as they are well versed with the North Africans.

Were has graced the continental showpiece with Zesco while Mohamed and Kahata have done it with record Kenyan champions Gor Mahia, with the duo steering K'Ogalo to the Confederation Cup quarterfinals with a 4-2 victory against Zamalek at Kasarani Stadium in 2019.

But Kimani has told his charges to be well composed in the match, reiterating that this will be key to identifying loop holes to pump in the goals.

The soft spoken tactician has also called upon their fans to turn up in large numbers to give them the needed push and motivation.

"We felt the weight of the 12th man against Ethiopian Coffee, this is what we are requesting for on Saturday. I urge Kenyans to come to the stadium to witness our effort," said Kimani.

Kimani's sentiments were echoed by experienced central defender David 'Cheche' Ochieng who said they are proud to take on one of the best sides in African football.

"This game is very crucial because it will show us what we are made of as far as African football is concerned. We have done our homework well, our expectation is to get good results, "Ochieng said.

"Football is about goals, so our focus will be to find the back of the net as many times as we can. We will strive to be clinical because we don't want to rue missed chances. The more we score at home, the better because return legs are always tricky.”

Kenneth Miguna who is serving a four-match ban imposed by CAF in 2019 will miss the clash alongside injured Clinton Kinanga (striker), John Njau (goalkeeper), Geoffrey Onyango (left back) and midfielders Erick Zakayo, Duncan Otieno, Brian Musa and David Owino.