Argentinean coach Miguel Gamondi saw his side Wydad Casablanca lose 2-0 to Egyptian giants Al Ahly in an African Champions League semifinal first leg clash on Saturday 17, October.
Gamondi, while speaking to media after the match, also felt the absence of experienced squad members played a role in their home loss at the Mohamed V Complex.
“I am very disappointed with the result. We came to the semi-final exhausted after playing a lot of games recently, coming out of a lot of stress and missing several key players due to injury,” said Gamondi.
Wydad were in a better position to stop Al Ahly as the hosts but they fell to a fifteenth-minute goal after Mohamed Magdi pounced on a defensive error by the defence.
Gamondi’s charges grew into the game after the half-hour mark and their pressure paid off towards the end of the first stanza as they were awarded a penalty but the Badi Aouk spot-kick was saved by Al Ahly custodian El-Shanawy.
Al Ahly added their second in the 62nd minute courtesy of Ali Maloul who converted a penalty after a handball by Wydad defender Brahim Najmeddine inside the box.
Wydad missed key players in the crucial first leg such as midfielder Salaheddine Saidi and defender Cheikh Comara.
“I had very limited choices and I had to deploy some players in some unusual positions. We made an early mistake that cost us heavily but we played quite well in the first half and then we missed a penalty kick that could have changed the course of the game,” Gamondi added.
Wydad will lock horns with Al Ahly in their second-leg match on Friday in Cairo and Gamondi will be hoping some of his players will be back by then.
“We won’t throw in the towel and we will go to Cairo to fight and the players must show that they belong to a big club like Wydad,” Gamondi concluded.
