Police held by Ethiopian Coffee in Caf Cup opener

Kenya Police FC failed to capitalize on home advantage as they were held by Ethiopian Coffee to a 0-0 draw, in their CAF Confederation Cup first round preliminary match at the Nayayo Stadium – Nairobi on Sunday.

It was Coffee’s defensive resilience which carried the day, managing to stop a determined Police side, in their first ever continental match.

Ethiopia Coffee Sports Coach Habetweld Desta reflected on the match, saying, "It was a tough game against Police FC, but at least we got a draw. With the next game being at home, we will take advantage of that."

Kenya Police FC Coach Antony Kimani expressed his satisfaction with his team's performance, stating, "We played a good game; we were very calm, and I'm impressed by the boys. We created a lot of chances but didn’t convert." 

Kimani promised to right their wrongs ahead of the second leg of the tie.

"We will rectify our mistakes and make it work for the next match. We will focus on the attacking third, where we rushed too much, which is why we weren’t able to execute our opportunities. Additionally, we will work on our defensive organization," he noted.

Police had an early setback when Brian Musa was withdrawn due to injury just eight minutes into the match, with Charles Sila taking his place. 

Despite the disruption, Police FC took control of the game. In the 21st minute, they came close as newly signed winger Owiti Jaffari unleashed a powerful shot, only to be denied by Coffee's custodian.

Ethiopia Coffee’s sole attempt of the half came in the 28th minute but went wide, as they appeared to defend more than attack.

In the 37th minute, Tyson Otieno had a chance to break the deadlock to the advantage of Police, but his powerful shot flew over the bar with the keeper beaten.

Upon resumption, Police continued pressing harder, but were not clinical in their finishing, despite quite conspicuous errors in the Coffee’s backline.

The closest Police came to snatching a win was in the 82nd, but a goal-line clearance silenced their enthusiastic fans, with the handful of Coffee’s supporters at the stadium breathing a sigh of relief.

And they wanted to react, with a last minute resurgence giving the visitors two clear chances, but unluckily both shots flew over the bar.

The return leg of this fixture will be played next week in Ethopia.