Salhadin Said on the mark for Wadi Degla in Caf Confed draw with AS Douanes of Togo

By Correspondent,

Hesham Zakaria’s men drew in the club’s first-ever continental game against AS Douanes of Togo in the CAF Confederation Cup on Sunday.

Wadi Degla  played their first-ever continental match against AS Douanes of Togo in the round of 32 in the CAF Confederation Cup.

Due to Egyptian clubs recent performances in CAF Competitions, Wadi Degla did not play the first preliminary round and were automatically qualified; today they register their first performance in the club’s history.

Wadi Degla of course qualified to participate in this competition after reaching the 2013 Egyptian cup final against Zamalek  and finishing runners up which merited them a place in this years Confederation Cup.

Hesham Zakaria’s men took the lead through their Ethiopian striker Saladin Said in the first half however the home side drew level through a Saidou Badarou penalty in the 69th minute.

The club started well and went ahead through Ethiopian striker Saladin Said in the 25th minute who slotted past the Togolese keeper. Wadi Degla then defended well killing all Togolese attacks and with the help of Egyptian legendary goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary – who produced a string of saves – they ended the half in front.

In the second half, Wadi Degla started well and managed to continue the clean sheet for another 20 minutes, where they defended well and even had a few attacks of their own – mainly through Saladin Said who was their main threat. However, in the 69th minute, Wadi Degla conceded a penalty which AS Douanes striker Saidou Badarou fired past El-Hadary to tie things up.

Both teams then pushed for a winner, however both teams remained defensively stable with El-Hadary once again impressing to keep his side in the game.

Wadi Degla also continued to threaten through Saladin and Yasser however they didnt manage to conjure up any real goal scoring opportunities.

This will be considered a good result for Wadi Degla, managing to score away from home which can prove vital in the return game next weekend. Both teams will do it again next week, this time in Cairo where Hesham Zakaria will be looking to end proceedings in the favour of his team.

Collins Okinyo

Ex- CAF Media Expert. An expert on African football with over 15 years experience ,always with an ear to the ground with indepth knowledge of the game. I have worked for top publications including 7 years at www.supersport.com until i founded www.soka25east.com to quench the thirst of football lovers across the continent. I have trained young upcoming journalists who are now a voice in African football.I have covered World Cup,AFCON,CHAN,Champions League,Confederations Cup,Cecafa,Cosafa,Wafu and many other football tournaments across the World. Founder Football Africa Arena(FAA),Founder www.afrisportdigital.com