Kenya Police FC were eliminated from the CAF Confederation Cup after being defeated by Egyptian giants Zamalek in the second leg of their second-round tie on Friday night.

Zamalek entered the return leg in Cairo with a 1-0 advantage and never looked in danger of relinquishing it comfortably securing a 3-1 aggregate victory after a 2-1 win.

Kenya Police will now set their sights on local assignments including the FKF Premier League and the FKF Cup.

Michael Olunga is set to lead Al Duhail as they aim to maintain their perfect league run following his injury return.

Antony Kimani’s side struggled to get going in the opening exchanges of the half, as they were often wasteful when in possession of the ball.

Their best efforts at goal proved to be a few long-range efforts, although they failed to trouble Mohamad Sobhi between the sticks.

The first chance of the match fell to Francis Kahata in the eighth minute from a set piece, but the ball went over the bar after he was brought down just outside the box.

Zamalek were unlucky not to take the lead in the 19th minute when Ahmed ‘Zizo’ Sayed’s shot was spilled by Patrick Matasi, but the Kenya international quickly recovered to prevent Sayed from getting his foot on the rebound.

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Mostafa Shalaby had a chance to put the White Knights ahead before the break and the in-form forward forced Matasi into a diving save punching the ball back into play.

Kenya Police quickly launched a counterattack with Jesse sending the ball to Kahata who mishandled it with only the goalkeeper to beat.

Zamalek produced a better showing in the second half, with Nabil Emad forcing Matasi into a superb save to deny the winger’s fierce drive from hitting the back of the net.

The defending champions took the lead in the 56th minute when a run down the left led to a cross landing at the feet of Ahmed ‘Zizo’ Sayed, who delivered a volley from inside the box to beat Patrick Matasi.

Four minutes later, Zamalek extended their lead after Police defender Musa Mohamed sent a pass to goalkeeper Matasi, but the custodian failed to react in time, allowing Nasser Maher to capitalize on the error and send the ball into the back of the net.

Kenya Police were then controversially awarded a free-kick on the edge of the Zamalek area in the 65th minute after Abdallah Mohamed fouled Abour Omar inside the box.

It was the former Cercle Brugge man who delivered a perfect ball to Jesse Were, who headed it into the back of the net, making it 2-1.

Police pressed on after the 70th minute mark and came close to scoring an equalizer. Firstly, Tyson Otieno dribbled into the area and passed the ball to Omar, who crossed it back to him. However, with only the goalkeeper to beat, Otieno failed to apply a composed finish and sent the ball over the bar while Sobhi was summoned to make a fine reaction save three minutes later.

Situma has explained why the former Gor Mahia striker is so difficult to replace after he missed the last two games for the side due to injury.

Zamalek remained aggressive en route to the final whistle, with Seifeddine Jaziri and Ahmed ‘Zizo’ Sayed coming close to scoring the White Knights’ third goal of the tie.

Despite Kenya Police’s efforts in added time, the Egyptians managed to hold their 2-1 lead intact as the referee called time at Cairo International Stadium.

Zamalek: Mohamad Sobhi, Omar Gaber, Hamza Mathlouthi, Mohamed Shehata, Mostafa El-Zenary, Nabil Emad, Nasser Maher, Abdallah El-Saied, Mostafa Shalaby, Seifeddine Jaziri, Ahmed ‘Zizo’ Sayed

Kenya Police: Patrick Matasi, Badi Baraka, Abud Omar, Toha Rashid, Mohammed Musa, David Ochieng, Alvin Mangeni, Marvin Nabwire, Alfred Leku, Jesse Were, Francis Kahata

Subs: Job Ochieng, Daniel Sakari, Brian Okoth, Tyson Otieno, Jaffari Owiti, Reuben Juma, Charles Ouma, Jackson Macharia, Clinton Kinanga

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