Egypt’s Zamalek suffered a stunning defeat on their opening African Confederation Cup game, falling 2-1 at Ethiopia’s Wolaitta Dicha after conceding a late goal in the first-leg of the competition’s round of 32 on Wednesday.
A sublime volley from Bezabeh Meleyo gave Dicha an early lead but Zamalek winger Emad Fathi pounced on a defensive mistake to level the score seven minutes before the break.
Yared Dawit scored a precious winner for Dicha after finishing off a breakaway with 12 minutes remaining to give the hosts a famous win over five-time Champions League winners Zamalek.
The Cairo giants still have a good chance to progress when they host Dicha in the second leg in Suez on 18 March.
Both sides struggled to create openings on a bumpy pitch in Hawassa, some 270 kilometers south of Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.
Dicha caught Zamalek by surprise to send the home fans into raptures after 17 minutes.
Meleyo met a pass inside the area with a superb flick before sending a sumptuous volley past the despairing dive of Zamalek keeper Ahmed El-Shennawi.
Zamalek struggled for possession due to the condition of the pitch, which resembled a farmer’s plowed field than a football playing surface.
However, they were still lucky to restore parity in the 37thminute when a terrible back pass from Teklu Tafesse was intercepted by Fathi, who rounded the keeper to slot into an empty net.
A dull second half only sprung to life in the last 12 minutes when Zamalek wasted a golden chance to go ahead before being immediately punished for the miss.
Central defender Mahmoud Alaa chested a long ball with his back to goal, turned and hit an overhead kick which went over the bar before Dicha launched a fast-paced counter attack at the other end.
Dawit was played into acres of space on the right hand side of the penalty area to find the bottom corner with a fine shot, condemning Zamalek to a surprise defeat.
Source- Ahram Online
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