USM Alger snatches the title on penalties against Zamalek
USM Alger, who were caught off guard by an early goal from Zamalek, held on to secure their second Confederation Cup title in history this Saturday, May 16. Facing a passionate Egyptian crowd, the Algiers club clinched victory in a high-quality penalty shootout.
“ Fans don’t score goals ,” declared Lamine Ndiaye, the USMA coach, in a press conference before facing Zamalek away from home, with a narrow one-goal advantage from the first leg in Algiers.
The Algerians were warned: the fervent atmosphere that had helped them secure a 1-0 victory would be just as intense in Cairo.
And the Cairo International Stadium, already ablaze with energy, caught USM cold. From the very first minutes of the game, with Zamalek’s first attack, Che Malone fouled Adam Kaied in the penalty area, conceding a penalty.
A few minutes later, while Oussama Benbot was complaining about lasers in his eyes from the stands, Oday Dabbagh converted the penalty with a perfect shot (5th minute).
The fans didn’t score, but it helped. After five minutes of play, the Egyptians had already erased their deficit.
A very tight match to start with
The match started at a blistering pace, but that was all it was. The game completely fizzled out afterward. Between fouls, rough play, and injuries, the first half was extremely disjointed.
Even Zamalek’s goalkeeper, El Mahdi Soliman, injured himself during a sprint and was replaced after half an hour by Mohamed Awad.
Awad, who was slated to be the club’s third-choice goalkeeper at the start of the season, suddenly found himself thrust into the final, which ultimately went to a penalty shootout.
Meanwhile, the second half was a much more open affair. Or rather, one in which USMA took control. While the Egyptians only managed two shots on goal all match, the Algerians had several clear chances in the second half.
One such chance was Khaldi’s shot from the right, which curled with his left foot and grazed the post (63rd minute). Khaldi, again, sent a shot over the bar a few minutes later after a perfect cutback from Draoui, who had battled hard on the right flank to deliver a cross.
Shooters with nerves of steel
This lack of efficiency led to a penalty shootout. An extraordinarily successful shootout, given what was at stake.
Every penalty taker who stepped up was clinical, with unstoppable shots into the top corner, perfect shots sent the goalkeeper the wrong way, and well-placed strikes down the middle. Until Zamalek’s seventh penalty taker, Mohamed Shehata, who sent his shot into the stands.
Then Glody Likonza finally ended the match by converting his penalty, despite Mohamed Awad’s dive, who was inches away from tipping the ball over with his right hand.
Two weeks after celebrating their Algerian Cup title, USM Alger have now won the second CAF Cup in their history, after the one in 2023. An extremely happy end to the season to now be established as one of the great representatives of Algerian football on the continental stage.
