It was an afternoon of mixed emotions for the Ugandan contingent at Nairobi United as the Kenyan debutants suffered a narrow 2-1 defeat to Tanzanian giants Azam FC in their third CAF Confederation Cup Group B fixture on Sunday.
Despite a spirited performance at the Nyayo National Stadium, the “Naibois” remain winless in the group stages, leaving their continental hopes hanging by a thread.
Ugandan fans had their eyes glued on the team sheet, which featured the familiar trio of Mustafa Kizza, Titus Ssematimba (Tito), and Waibi.
Mustafa Kizza: The former KCCA and CF Montreal left-back started the game on the bench. Tito and Waibi too started on the bench, with head coach Salim Ali introducing them as second-half substitutes to inject fresh energy into the attack.
The duos introduction coincided with Nairobi United’s best spell of the game, though they couldn’t find the elusive equalizer.
Nairobi United took a dream lead in the 13th minute through teenage sensation Duncan Omala, who finished off a brilliant move involving Michael Karamor. The goal sent the home crowd into a frenzy and briefly put the Kenyans on course for their first points of the campaign.
However, the “Ice Cream Makers” from Tanzania showed their continental pedigree. They responded almost immediately to level the score at 1-1 before the break. The decisive blow came in the 78th minute when a defensive lapse—later ruled a cruel own goal—handed Azam the 2-1 victory.
The result leaves Nairobi United rooted to the bottom of Group B with zero points from three matches.
The other game of the group will happen later in the night when Wydad AC take on Maniema from DRC. The latter team has six points, the same as the former. Azam and Nairobi have three and zero points respectively.
Wow, what a tough loss for Nairobi United! It sounds like a really exciting match between the teams.