Wydad AC Prove too Hot to Handle For Nairobi United in CAF Confederation Cup Opener

Nairobi United were given a proper footballing lesson in front of an intimidating Wydad crowd on Sunday afternoon, losing 3-0 to the Moroccan giants in their opening CAF Confederation Cup group stage clash in Casablanca on Sunday evening.

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Nairobi United got off to a bad start, conceding in the third minute thanks to a goal by Ayoub Boucheta after being set up by the effervescent Thembinkosi Lorch, who caused problems down the left flank all afternoon.

This would just be the start of their dominance. In the ninth minute, Aziz Ki, who was controlling the game from the middle of the back, set up a diagonal to Lorch who was lurching, forcing Kevin Oduor into making a save wide. In the 12th minute, Nordin Amrabat tried to spin around number Lenox Ogutu after receiving the ball in the box, and fell down, but his appeal for a penalty fell on deaf ears.

In the 17th minute, Oduor, who was looking increasingly shaky as the game progressed, 

nearly made a mistake after receiving a backpass from John Otieno, but was immediately put under pressure by Amrabat, which forced him into hoofing the ball out of the pitch.

Wydad should have made it two in the 33rd minute when Mohamed Bouchouari found himself in acres of space after a nicely executed attacking move down the right side caused confusion in the Nairobi United box, which left the goalmouth empty, but the Moroccan star hit it agonisingly wide.

The Naiboys would finally create their first real chance of the game from a counter attack after Shami Kibwana took advantage of a gap created down the right hand side, but his resultant left shot blazed wide off target.

Wydad piled more pressure, and in the end, their rewards would bear fruit as in the 4rd minute, Bouchouari made amends for his earlier miss in the 43rd minute with a fantastic strike to give them the 2-0 lead heading into the break.

Wydad would continue to pile on to United’s misery . In the 58th minute, Leslie Owino was forced into making a last ditch tackle to deny Hamza Hannouri when through on goal after being set up well by Lorch with a low cross ,who had switched to the right hand side.

However, Nairobi United thought they had finally found a way to break through Wydad’s mean defence when Kibwana set up Enock Machaka, who hit the ball into the back of the net but was flagged offside. 

With Salim Ali seeking to add more attacking threat, he  decided to sub on Ovella Ochieng for Duncan Omala to stretch Wydad’s defence, but it was a substitution that really did not have effect, as Mohamed Rayhi hit the final nail in the coffin with a cheeky, left footed goal into the back of the net in the 86th minute and get the well-deserved 3-0 win.

The result now means Wydad sit bottom of the group, and will be facing Maniema Union at the Kasarani Stadium in their second game of the campaign at Kasarani Stadium on Sunday.